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^i^srERS    OF    SHEDICI^E 

EDITED    BY 

ERNEST    HART,    D.C.L 


(Homines  AD  deos  nulla  inueII 

iPROPIUS     ACCEDUNT     QUXM 
SALUTEM  HOMINIBUS    DANDO'. 


Masters   of  Medicine 


Title. 

John  Hunter 
William  Harvey 
Sir  James  Simpson 
Edward  Jenner . 
Hermann  von  Helmholtz 
William  Stokes 
Claude  Bernard 
Sir  Benjamin  Brodie 
Thomas  Sydenham 
Vesalius 


Author. 
Stephe?i  Paget 
D^Jrcy  Power 
H.   Laing  Gordon 
Ernest  Hart 
yohn  G.  McKendrick 
Sir  JFilliam  Stokes 
Michael  Foster 
Tifuothy  Holmes 
J.  F.  Payne 
C.  Louis  Taylor 


M 


ASTERS 

OF 
EDICINE 


SIR  JAMES  YOUNG  SIMPSON 

AND  CHLOROFORM 


^mm^ 


hi  lA^y^Hj  v\S) 


Sir  James  Young 
Simpson 


AND 


CHLOROFORM 

(1811— 1870) 


{<i>\ 


BY 


H.   Laing  Gordon 


:j^£pf  roRK 
LONGMANS,    GREEN    &    CO 

91    &   93,    FIFTH   AVENUE 
1897 


Copyright  by  T.  Fisher  Unwin^  l%(^']^for  Great  Britai?i 

and  Longmans  Green  ^  Co.  for  the 

United  States  of  America 


To 
PROFESSOR   ALEXANDER    RUSSELL    SIMPSON 


"  Hini  by  the  hand  clear  Nature  took, 
Dearest  Nature,  strong  and  kind." 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerdon. 

"  When  Nature  has  work  to  be  done,  she  creates  a  genius  to  do  it." 

Id. 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  endeavoured  to  condense  the  vast  amount 
of  matter  w^hich  has  been  written  concerning  this 
Master  of  Medicine  and  his  work  into  the  form  of 
a  readable  narrative,  and  to  represent  him  in  his 
social  and  intellectual  environment  in  accordance 
with  the  object  of  this  Series.  The  selections  from 
his  own  writings  illustrate  as  far  as  possible  his 
versatility  and  many-sided  character.  I  have  chosen 
for  quotation  out  of  the  num.erous  sketches  and 
memoirs  of  him  those  written  from  undoubted 
knowledge  of  the  man. 

I  am  indebted  especially  to  Professor  A.  R.  Simpson 
for  kind  advice,  to  Mr.  Cuthbertson  of  the  Edinburgh 
University  Library  for  useful  help,  to  Mr.  C.  Louis 
Taylor  for  valuable  criticism,  and  to  my  wife  for 
assistance  in  research  and  compilation.  I  have  also 
to  thank  those  friends  who  from  time  to  time  have 
favoured  me  with  personal  reminiscences  of  Sir  James. 

The  following  are  the  chief  works,  in  addition  to 
Simpson's  own  writings,  from  which  my  information  has 

ix 


PREFACE 

been  drawn  :  —  ( i )  "  The  Jubilee  of  Anaesthetic  Mid- 
wifery" ;  (2)  "KeiUer  and  Crede  "  ;  (3)  "History 
of  the  Chair  of  Midwifery  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh," being  addresses  by  Professor  A.  R.  Simpson  ; 
(4)  Miss  Eve  B.  Simpson's  "Sir  James  Simpson"; 
and  her  (5)  "Dogs  of  other  Days;"  (6)  "Twenty 
Years  and  their  Lesson  ;  a  Retrospect  and  Review " 
[Scots  Observer,  1891);  (7)  Dr.  Duns's  "Memoir 
of  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson";  (8)  Professor  Gusserow's 
"  Zur  Erinnerung  an  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson";  (9)  Mr. 
Cuthbertson's  "Student's  Pilgrimage";  (10)  "The 
Story  of  Edinburgh  University,"  by  Sir  A.  Grant ; 
(11)  "The  Life  of  Sir  Robert  Christison "  ;  (12) 
"The  Life  of  Robert  Knox";  and  numerous  back 
numbers  of  the  Century  Magazine,  the  Lancet,  the 
British  Medical  Journal,  the  Medical  Times  and 
Gazette,   the    Edinburgh  Medical  Journal,  he,    &c. 

Forest  Hill,  October,   1897. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


I.  BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD    (181I-1825)           .  I 

II.  STUDENT    DAYS    (1825-1830)               .             .  1 7 

III.  FURTHER    STUDIES    (183O-1835)            .             .  36 

IV.  EARLY        PRACTICE        AND        PROFESSORSHIP 

(1835-1840) 52 

V.  PROFESSOR     AND     PHYSICIAN     (184O-1847)  66 

VI.  THE    DISCOVERY    OF     ANAESTHETICS     (1844- 

1847) 88 

VII.    THE       FIGHT       FOR       ANESTHESIA       (1847 

onwards)  .  .  .  .  .Ill 

VIII.    HOME    LIFE CONTROVERSIES       .  .  -133 

IX.  ARCHAEOLOGY— PRACTICE  .  .  .  I52 

X.  PERSONAL PROFESSORIAL — PROFESSIONAL    .     I  64 

xi 


PAGE 


CONTENTS 

CHAP. 

XI.      FURTHER    REFORMS — HONOURS  .             .          i86 

XII.     FAILING    HEALTH DEATH             .  .             .    202 

APPENDIX        .             .             ,             .  .             .22? 

INDEX         .             .             .             ,             .  ,             ^    227 


Xll 


SIR   JAMES    SIMPSON 


CHAPTER    I 
Birth  and  Childhood. 


1811-1825 


The  state  of  the  healing  art  at  Simpson's  birth — Birthplace — Family 
superstitions — His  father's  bakery — His  mother's  Huguenot  descent 
— Commencement  of  schooldays — Natural  and  antiquarian  features 
of  Bathgate  district — The  village  hand-loom  weavers  as  antiqua- 
rians and  naturalists — His  interest  in  Nature  and  craving  for  Icnow- 
leilge — Brotliers'  and  sister's  care  for  him — Size  of  his  head — 
Village  doctor's  record  of  his  birth — Schooldays  cease  at  age  of 
fou)teen — Influence  of  his  environment  in  developing  his  character. 

JAMES  YOUNG  SIMPSON,  who  will  ever  be 
remembered  as  the  discoverer  of  the  pain-annul- 
lijig  power  of  chloroform,  was  born  in  tlie  year 
1 811,  at  a  period  when  tliere  was  room  for  a  hero  in 
the  practice  of  the  heahng  art  in  the  British  Islands. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  seventeenth  century  Han'ey 
had  laid  bare  the  great  fact  of  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  and  the  practical  Thomas  Sydenham  had 
swept  aside  the  highly  empirical  systems  and  theories 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

of  medicine  which  had  successively  supplanted  each 
other  since  Hippocrates  first  taught,  and  urged  men  to 
found  their  knowledge  upon  what  they  actually  saw — 
on  observation  and  experiment ;  and  that  in  the 
eighteenth  century  men  like  Cheyne,  Heberden, 
Cullen,  and  the  wonderful  Jenner  had  appreciably 
assisted  in  developing  medicine  at  the  same  time 
that  Hunter  was  raising  surgery  nearer  to  the  level 
of  a  science.  But  even  while  Simpson  was  growing 
out  of  childhood  all  the  powers  of  such  profes- 
sional giants  as  Bright,  Addison,  Abernethy,  Astley 
Cooper,  and  Charles  Bell,  were  insufficient  to  dispel 
the  massive  cloud  of  mystery  and  superstition  which 
enveloped  the  practice  of  both  medicine  and  surgery 
iji  this  country  and  obscured  whatever  there  was  of 
truth  in  the  teaching  of  these  men. 

In  the  first  decade  of  two  of  this  century  the  medical 
profession  had  not  yet  entirely  abandoned  the  use  of 
the  golden-headed  cane,  nor  had  what  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  calls  the  solemn  farce  of  overdrugging  yet 
ceased.  "  Humours,"  "  impostumes,"  "  iliac  passions," 
and  such  like  were  still  spoken  of — terms  now  heard 
only  amongst  country-folks  in  remote  districts  and 
that  rarely,  or  encountered  in  curious  old  medical  pub- 
lications. Messes  and  abominations,  prepared  by  the 
apothecaries  according  to  more  or  less  secret  recipes 
handed  down  through  the  Middle  Ages,  were  swallowed 
in  good  faith  ;  blood-letting  was  still  a  panacea  ;  and 
such  remedies  as  that  of  holding  a  live  puppy  to  the 

2 


BIRTH   AND   CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

body  for  the  relief  of  colic  still  had  their  professional 
advocates,  but  happily  a  decreasing  number  ;  whilst 
those  pains 

".   .   .  In  the  hour, 
When  the  veil  of  the  body  we  feel 
Rent  round  us — while  torments  reveal 
The  motherhood's  advent  in  power  " 

— pains  which  Simpson  was  the  first  truly  to  relieve  by 
his  application  of  anaesthetics,  were  gravely  said  to  be 
alleviated  by  the  swallowing  of  a  concoction  of  white 
onions  and  oil.  Surgery  was  no  doubt  ahead  of 
medicine  ;  but  the  early  surgical  records  of  this  century 
have  little  more  than  a  curious  interest  to  modern 
practitioners.  Operations  entirely  unknown  to  our 
professional  forefathers  less  than  a  century  ago  are 
now  performed  in  safety  daily.  Such  mysterious 
diseases  as  "  icteric  irritative  fever "  and  "  acute 
sinking"  after  operations,  dreaded  then  with  the  fear 
that  is  always  inspired  by  unseen  or  ill-understood 
dangers,  have  vanished  before  the  progress  of  modern 
science  in  which  the  introduction  of  anaesthesia  was 
the  first  great  step. 

The  practice  of  the  branch  of  medicine  which 
Simpson  made  so  peculiarly  his  own — that  of  ob- 
stetrics— originally  in  the  hands  of  women  only,  had 
been  fiercely  contested  for  by  the  two  sexes  during 
two  centuries,  and  such  was  the  feeling  against  man- 
midwives  in  Scotland  that  the  dispute  had  scarcely 
ceased  at  Simpson's  birth.    The  stronger  sex,  however, 

3 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

was  then  at  last  asserting  its  superiority,  and  to  be  an 
accoucheur  was  beginning  to  be  considered  after  all 
as  worthy  of  a  gentleman.  The  despised  art  was 
preparing  for  its  renaissance. 

Simpson  grew  to  manhood  whilst  science,  aided  by 
precise  methods  of  accurate  observation,  was  shedding 
new  light  upon  physic,  surgery,  and  obstetrics.  In 
fulfilling  his  great  part  in  establishing  the  healing  art 
on  a  firm  scientific  basis,  Simpson  encountered  the  full 
force  of  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  of  his  day  both 
within  and  without  his  profession.  It  was,  perhaps, 
fortunate  that  he  was  brought  up  in  a  small  village 
and  in  a  rank  of  life  where  he  would  meet  from 
his  earliest  days  with  many  superstitious  beliefs  and 
practices,  strange  and  utterly  irrational.  A  mind  such 
as  his  would  meet,  reason,  and  experiment  these  out  of 
existence.  Probably  through  these  circumstances  he 
conceived  the  taste  for  archaeology  and  antiquarian 
research  which  were  his  recreation  in  later  years  ;  but, 
what  was  more  important,  he  gained  also  some  train- 
ing for  the  struggle  with  ignorance,  untruth,  and 
irrationalism,  into  which  he  threw  with  his  eager 
vigour  the  whole  strength  of  his  manhood. 

Simpson  was  born  in  the  village  of  Bathgate,  in 
Linlithgowshire,  where  his  father,  David  Simpson, 
was  the  local  baker.  David's  father,  who  died  at  the 
ripe  age  of  ninety-one  a  few  years  after  James's  birth, 
was  the  descendant  of  a  line  of  small  hard-working 
farmers,  who  added   to   his  work  and  his  profit    the 

4 


BIRTH   AND   CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

practice  of  farriery.  Although  modern  science  has, 
by  the  aid  of  bacteriology,  proved  such  practitioners 
of  the  rough  veterinary  medicine  of  the  day  to  have 
been  right  in  ascribing  to  unseen  influences  many  of 
the  diseases  of  animals  which  they  found  themselves 
powerless  to  check,  the  methods  they  employed  for 
treatment  when  what  they  called  witchcraft  was  at 
work  scarcely  have  the  support  of  present-day  practi- 
tioners. In  one  of  his  addresses  upon  archaeology 
Simpson  records  hov/  his  grandfather  ordered  and  his 
own  father  took  part  in  the  burial  alive  of  a  cow  in 
order  to  appease  the  evil  spirit  which  was  spreading 
the  plague  of  murrain  with  fatal  effect.  And  the 
older  gentleman  was  known  to  have  had  more  than 
one  serious  encounter  with  a  witch.  On  one  occa- 
sion an  old  beggar  woman,  who  plied  her  calling  in 
quite  an  original  method — that  of  being  wheeled  in  a 
barrow  from  farm  to  farm — hurled  curses  at  old 
Simpson  for  ordering  a  servant  to  v/heel  her  from  his 
house  on  to  her  next  calling-place,  and  vowed  an 
awful  vengeance  on  his  family  if  he  did  not  replace 
the  servant  with  one  of  his  stalwart  sons.  The 
farmer  recollected  that  an  ill  event  had  followed  the 
old  woman's  last  visit,  and  quickly  drew  a  sharp  flint 
from  his  pocket  and  made  a  gash  across  her  forehead 
with  it.  "  Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  see  what  ye're  noo, 
ye  auld  witch  ;  but  I've  scored  ye  aboon  the  braith 
and  my  house  is  safe." 

Simpson  noted  these  and  many  other  curious  prac- 
5 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

tices  and  beliefs,  and  afterwards  pointed  out  in  one  of 
his  addresses  that  they  were  probably,  for  the  most 
part,  relics  of  the  pagan  creeds  and  customs  of  our 
ancestors.  He  urged  the  making  of  a  collection  of 
the  folk-lore  of  Scotland,  ere  it  utterly  disappeared 
before  the  march  of  modern  civilisation,  and  suggested 
that,  perhaps,  some  archaeological  Cuvier  might  one 
day  be  able  to  re-construct  from  these  mythological 
fragments  distinct  pictures  of  the  heathen  practices, 
rites,  and  faiths  of  our  forefathers. 

In  his  early  boyhood  he  listened  to  many  stories  of 
local  and  family  superstitions  told  to  him  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  a  firm  believer  by  his  father.  He  him- 
self was  the  object  of  superstitious  admiration  to  the 
simple  villagers  all  through  his  boyhood,  and  they 
freely  foretold-  great  deeds  from  him  in  later  years  ; 
for  he  was  a  seventh  son,  and  the  good  luck  which 
seventh  sons  were  supposed  to  bring  had  appeared  in 
the  family  soon  after  his  birth.  Up  to  the  day  on 
which  James  first  saw  the  light,  June  7,  181 1,  the 
baker's  business  had  been  going  steadily  from  bad  to 
worse,  and  the  shop  books  showed  that  on  that  very 
day  the  lowest  depths  were  reached.  The  baker, 
David  Simpson,  seems  to  have  been  curiously  lacking 
in  business  method,  although  he  was  a  hard-working 
man.  But  after  James's  birth  he  wisely  interested  his 
wife  in  his  affairs,  with  the  result  that  she  energetically 
and  successfully  bestirred  herself  to  recoup  their  fallen 
fortunes.     Mrs.  Simpson  was  directly  descended  from 

6 


BIRTH   AND    CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

a  fugitive  Huguenot  family,  settled  for  many  years  on 
a  farm  near  Bathgate,  and  intermarried  with  well- 
known  families.  Through  her,  indeed,  Simpson  claimed 
a  distant  relationship  with  the  national  hero.  Sir  William 
Wallace.  The  cares  of  her  family  and  the  strain  of 
managing  the  increasing  baker's  business  proved  too 
much  for  her  always  delicate  constitution,  and  she  died 
when  James  was  only  nine  years  old.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  youngest  child  and  favourite  son  had  an 
unusually  large  share  of  his  mother's  society  during  those 
years  ;  he  was  a  peculiarly  attractive  child,  "  a  rosy 
bairn  wi'  laughin'  mou'  and  dimpled  cheeks,"  and  his 
manner,  even  when  he  was  little  more  than  an  infant, 
was  quiet  and  affectionate.  When  physical  sufferings 
overtook  the  mother,  the  child's  quiet  sympathy  and 
engaging  manner  helped  and  comforted  her.  Her  own 
nature  was  bright,  vivacious,  and  energetic,  quick  to 
think  and  prompt  to  act  ;  and  she  was  full  of  love, 
sympathy,  and  piety.  These  maternal  traits  influenced 
the  youth,  and  added  a  soft,  refined — delicately  refined 
— tone  to  the  paternal  influence,  whence  he  received 
self-reliance  and  habits  of  persevering  industry. 

The  boy's  school-life  began  at  the  age  of  four 
years.  The  orthodox  learning  came  very  easily  to 
him  ;  he  entered  into  both  work  and  play  so  whole- 
heartedly that  he  at  once  became  known  as  the  "  wise 
wean,"  and  was  at  the  same  time  ever  sought  after  by 
his  school-mates  as  a  companion  in  out-door  sports. 
The  parish  schoolmaster  was  one  James  Taylor,  who 

7 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

had  considerable  ability  for  the  post,  and  encouraged 
his  pupils  by  kindly  personal  interest  to  develop  affec- 
tion for  learning.  But  for  Simpson  there  were  other 
teachers  and  greater  subjects  for  study  in  the  country- 
side around  Bathgate.  The  district  was  full  of  rich 
treasures  for  the  field  naturalist  and  for  the  anti- 
quarian. Bathgate  lies  between  the  Firth  of  Forth 
and  the  Pentland  Hills,  in  a  geologically  varied 
district,  with  a  varied  and  abundant  flora  and  fauna — 
more  so  in  those  days  when  Bathgate  was  a  small 
village  of  hand-loom  weavers  than  latterly,  when  it 
was  a  thriving  little  town,  the  centre  of  a  coal,  shale, 
and  ironstone  mining  industry.  The  archaeological 
features  of  the  neighbourhood  were  full  of  interest. 
There  was  the  famous  "  Catstane,"  of  Kirkliston, 
which  had  p-uzzled  antiquarians  even  before  the 
establishment  of  the  Scots  Society  in  1780,  and  at 
Kipps  was  one  of  the  few  remaining  cromlechs — 
and  that  a  ruined  one — in  Scotland  ;  whilst  the  line 
of  the  Roman  wall  between  the  Firth  of  Forth  and 
the  Clyde  was  not  far  distant.  There  were  traces  of 
a  Cistercian  monastery  founded  by  David  I.,  and 
various  hills  and  fields  and  caves  were  associated  with 
the  names  of  Sir  William  Wallace,  Robert  Bruce, 
and  King  Edward   I. 

Simpson  thoroughly  familiarised  himself  in  boyhood 
with  the  natural  features,  as  well  as  with  the  antiquarian 
objects  in  the  district.  He  continued  to  investigate 
them  during  his  vacations  when  a  student  at  Edin- 

8 


BIRTH   AND   CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

burgh  University,  and  rendered  the  neighbourhood 
famous  archasologically  by  masterly  monographs  written 
when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  fame.  Amongst  the 
village  hand-loom  weavers,  a  race  of  peculiarly  obser- 
vant and  intelligent  men,  there  were  some  who  studied 
both  the  antiquarian  objects  and  the  natural  history  of 
Linhthgowshire.  Simpson  used  to  speak  of  one  man, 
a  daily  labourer  at  the  loom,  who  was  able  to  write, 
in  correct  Latin,  an  accurate  description  of  any  plant 
or  animal  brought  before  him,  although  his  earnings 
at  the  loom  never  amounted  to  nfty  pounds  a  year. 
These  men  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  evident  interest  of 
the  "  young  philosopher "  in  their  discussions  and 
demonstrations,  at  the  same  time  kindly  directing  his 
mind  towards  the  simple,  painstaking,  true  methods  of 
observing  and  reflecting  upon  nature.  There  was  no 
lack  of  change  in  his  environment  for  him ;  his 
interest  in  natural  phenomena  was  roused  and  kept 
alive  during  his  drives  round  the  countryside  delivering 
bread  to  the  farmers  and  cottagers,  or  in  occasional 
visits  to  his  parents'  relations.  He  daily  took  his  turn 
behind  the  shop  counter,  reading,  writing,  or  drawing 
in  the  interval  of  waiting  for  customers.  He  trained 
himself  to  read  or  do  his  school  lessons  as  readily  in  a 
roomful  of  romping  children  as  in  the  quiet  of  the 
bedroom.  -  It  has  been  said  that  he  never  knew  an 
idle  moment  from  the  day  of  his  birth  onwards,  and 
his  was  such  an  indomitable  and  persevering  energy 
that  the  remark  is  no  exaggeration.     But  the  pathway 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

to  greatness  was  made  specially  smooth  for  James 
Simpson.  He  was  set  upon  it,  and  protected  in  his 
childhood,  and  guided  in  his  youth,  with  the  one 
definite  object  always  in  view.  The  Simpson  family 
as  well  as  the  whole  Bathgate  community,  took  it  for 
granted  that  eminence  was  to  be  his  in  whatever  walk 
of  life  he  entered  seriously  upon.  His  sister  Mary  and 
his  brother  Alexander  looked  upon  him  as  a  special 
care  ;  the  former  watched  over  him  as  a  mother,  and 
the  latter  helped  him  in  the  ups  and  downs  of  boyhood, 
just  as  he  constantly  stood  by  him  throughout  the 
difficult  days  of  his  later  career.  It  had  always  been 
a  custom  in  Scots  families  of  humble  rank  that  one 
child,  either  from  the  exhibition  of  a  natural  aptitude, 
or  through  the  ambition  of  the  parents,  was  singled 
out  to  receive  the  advantages  of  a  fuller  education 
such  as  is  within  the  reach  of  every  able  lad  in  Scot- 
land. Honour  and  glory  would  thus  be  brought  to 
the  family,  greatest  of  all  if  from  the  pulpit,  while  the 
less  favoured  members  of  the  family  would  plod  on  in 
the  same  sphere  of  life  as  their  parents.  The  world 
owes  a  great  deal  to  the  Simpsons,  and  particularly  to 
Alexander,  who  cheerfully  seconded  their  father's 
efforts  to  help  forward  their  young  brother,  without 
a  suspicion  of  jealousy.  They  knew  he  would  be 
great  some  day,  and  therein  they  looked  for  their 
reward. 

Happily    there    were    ample    means    for    all    their 
requirements  derived  from  the  now  prosperous  bakery. 

10 


BIRTH   AND    CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

The  money  was  kept  in  one  drawer,  the  till  where 
the  shop  earnings  were  placed.  All  the  household 
were  free  to  draw  thence  supplies  for  their  ordinary- 
wants,  James  without  stint  ;  and  he  alone  was 
exempted  from  the  condition  that  he  who  profited 
must  also  contribute  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  The 
boy  took  very  full  advantage  of  his  fortunate  circum- 
stances and  drank  deeply  of  all  the  knowledge  that 
came  near  and  ever  hunted  for  more.  With  each 
succeeding  year  the  craving  to  know,  and  to  know 
thoroughly,  became  more  and  more  his  ruling  passion  ; 
by  the  time  his  schooldays  were  over  it  had  gained 
complete  mastery  over  him  ;  happily  for  the  human 
race  Providence  had  so  endowed  him  that  when 
knowledge  had  come  wisdom  did  not  linger. 

He  was  never  in  anv  way  led  away  by  the  temp- 
tations that  no  doubt  beset  every  boy  in  a  village 
of  hard-drinkers  such  as  Bathgate  was  in  his  youth. 
Alexander  took  pains  to  warn  him — "  Others  may 
do  this,  Jamie,  but  it  would  break  all  our  hearts 
and  blast  all  your  prospects  were  you  to  do  it,"  he 
said.  It  was  not  necessary  to  make  appeals  to 
James  to  work  and  fulfil  the  family  predictions  ;  he 
was  as  firmly  determined  to  be  great  as  they  were  sure 
he  would  be.  He  never  forgot  how  much  he  owed  to 
the  loving  help  of  his  family,  and  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  the  youngest  son  growing  up  at  a  time  when  the 
family  struggles  were  fairly  over  ;  when  instead  of  its 
being  an  effort  for  the  parents  to  provide  the  necessary 

II 


SIR  JAMES  SIMPSON 

funds  for  his  education,  the  shop-till  was  well  filled 
and  the  elder  brothers  and  the  loving  sister  were  at 
hand  eagerly  willing  to  help.  In  student  days  when 
struggles  came  and  the  path  seemed  dark  and  beset 
with  dangers,  the  knowledge  of  the  firm  faith  in  his 
powers  of  the  family  at  home  and  of  the  scarcely 
smaller  faith  of  the  weavers,  was  a  powerful  incentive 
in  the  moments  when  he  required  any  other  than  that 
of  the  spirit  within  him. 

We  cannot  feel  otherwise  than  thankful  that  up  to 
the  age  of  fourteen,  when  his  schooldays  ended,  he 
had  access  to  but  a  limited  stock  of  literature  where- 
with to  gratify  his  hunger  for  knowledge.  To  satisfy 
his  appetite  he  was  driven  into  the  fields  and  the 
forests  ;  every  sense  was  stimulated,  and  became 
developed  through  repeated  use.  Thus  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  phenomenal  faculty  of  rapid  and 
accurate  observation,  and  of  his  no  less  phenomenal 
memory. 

His  imagination  was  fed  with  the  legends  of  the 
district  and  tales  of  his  remote  moss-trooper  ancestors 
told  to  him  of  an  evening  by  his  father.  Though 
happily  saved  from  being  a  bookworm  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  sounder  means  for  acquiring  knowledge,  he 
devoured  and  digested  every  scrap  of  literature  which 
came  in  his  way.  Like  all  Scots  children  of  his  class 
he  learnt  his  Bible  thoroughly  from  end  to  end — a 
knowledge  which  served  him  well  in  later  years. 
Shakespeare  followed  the  Bible  in  his  own  review  or 

12 


BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

his  favourite  reading  as  a  boy  ;  but  a  gazetteer  or  an 
almanac  was  quite  as  acceptable.  His  taste  was  for 
solid  fact — fact  which  he  could  learn  and  put  to  the 
test ;  thus  the  great  open  book  of  Nature  was  the 
attraction  he  most  readily  yielded  to.  But  nothing 
in  book  form  ever  came  amiss  to  him  ;  if  between  the 
covers  there  was  useful  information  to  be  had,  Simpson 
extracted  it  and  stored  it  away  in  his  capacious  brain. 

The  unusually  large  size  of  his  head,  a  source  of 
admiration  in  manhood,  was  in  childhood  an  object  of 
wonder  to  observers.  In  manhood  he  wore  his  hair 
in  long  locks,  and  this  was  apparently  his  habit  in 
boyhood.  Once  a  strange  barber  cut  his  hair  so  close 
that  his  brother  took  upon  himself  to  go  and  rebuke 
the  man.  "The  callant  had  suck  a  muckle  head," 
was  the  retort,  "  I  was  doin'  my  best  to  mak'  it  look 
respectable."  A  close-cropped  head  gave  altogether  a 
too  sportive  appearance  to  the  "  young  philosopher  " 
in  the  eyes  of  the  watchful  elder  brother. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Simpson  displayed  in  his 
schooldays  any  special  leaning  towards  the  medical 
profession  ;  it  cannot  be  reasonably  urged  that  his 
grandfather's  rough  skill  in  the  treatment  of  animals 
fostered  any  medical  tendency  in  him,  for  James  was 
but  five  years  old  when  the  old  man  died.  Even  had 
he  been  of  an  age  to  understand  them,  the  methods 
employed  would  have  scarcely  recommended  them- 
selves to  a  youth  of  Simpson's  nature,  sufficiently  to 
raise  a  spirit  of  emulation  within  him.     It  is  also  not 

13 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

recorded  that  the  village  doctor  took  any  special 
interest  in  the  boy  or  brought  any  influence  to  bear 
upon  him  ;  although  his  note-book  thus  gives  the 
earliest  record  of  the  future  prince  of  obstetricians  : — 

275. — June  7.  Simpson,  David,  baker,  Bathgate. 
Wife,  Mary  Jarvie.  JE.  40.  8th  child,  son. 
Natus  8  o'clock.  IJti  venieham  natus.  Paid 
I  OS.  6d. 

James  displayed  his  superiority  so  decidedly  in  the 
village  school  that  w^hen  he  reached  the  age  of  fourteen 
it  was  decided  to  send  him  to  Edinburgh  University 
without  further  waste  of  time.  It  was  no  unusual 
age  for  boys  to  commence  their  University  career 
in  Scotland.  There  was  no  secondary  education 
in  the  Scots  provinces,  but  instruction  intermediate 
between  that  of  the  parish  school  and  what  is 
ordinarily  known  as  University  education  was  given 
within  the  walls  of  the  University  itself.  Boys  of 
humble  rank  who  aspired  to  a  profession  v/ere  sent  up, 
as  indeed  many  still  are,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  or 
fifteen,  to  attend  these  junior  Arts  classes  in  which 
this  instruction  was,  and  still  is,  im.parted.  The 
University  was  crowded  with  schoolboys  of  all  ranks 
of  life  gathered  together  from  town  and  country, 
and  consisted  of  nothing  more  than  a  collection  of 
class-rooms  devoted  to  the  giving  of  instruction  in 
lecture  form.     This  stepping-stone  of  junior  classes 


BIRTH   AND    CHILDHOOD,    1811-1825 

threw  open  the  higher  education  to  hundreds  of 
youths  w]iose  equals  in  England  had  no  such  ad- 
vantage at  that  time.  Scots  University  education 
besides  being  thorough  was  decidedly  clieap,  so  that 
the  cliurch,  law,  and  medicine  received  many  recruits 
from   the  class   out   of  which  Simpson  was  drawn. 

His  envii"onmejit  up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  was  well 
calculated  to  train  him  for  the  great  work  that  lay 
before  him.  The  legends  of  the  district,  and  the 
sight  of  the  objects  of  archaeological  interest  which  he 
came  across  in  his  rambles  out  of  school  hours,  were 
powerful  stimuli  to  his  sensations  ;  whilst  tlie  accurate 
observation  of  natural  phenomena  in  field  and  hedge 
which  the  kindly  interested  weavers  helped  him  to, 
was  also  a  valuable  educative  influence.  It  is  probable 
that  his  senses  received  much  of  the  training  wliich 
was  to  lead  to  his  ultimately  being  tlie  greatest 
physician  of  his  day  by  these  means,  rather  than  from 
the  instruction  imparted  to  him  in  the  village  school, 
or  derived  by  liim  independently  from  the  books  that 
came  in  his  way.  It  was  undoubtedly  a  fortunate 
circumstajice  that  he  was  born  and  bred  in  aji  out- 
of-the-way  country  district,  where  he  drew  his  lessons 
from  Nature  and  the  phenomena  which  lay  round 
him,  rather  than  in  a  great  city  where  he  would  have 
been  educated  on  the  stereotyped  orthodox  system. 
When  we  look  further  back,  asking  why  he  saw 
sermons  in  stones  and  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
to  which  the  bulk  of  his  schoolfellows  were  entirely 

^5 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

blind,  we  are  bound  to  confess  that  we  find  no  satis- 
factory answer  in  his  family  history,  to  which  it  is 
customary  to  look  for  an  explanation  of  such 
tendencies.  Heredity  played  no  great  part  in  making 
Simpson  great ;  from  the  paternal  side  there  was 
imparted  to  him  a  vigorous  physique  ;  from  his 
mother  he  received  the  bright,  happy,  sympathetic,  and 
alert  disposition,  which  descended  through  her  from 
his  French  ancestors.  He  was  provided  with  a  brain 
of  marvellous  quality  and  phenomenal  size.  But  it 
was  the  environment  which  acted  upon  this  brain 
and  brought  out  the  capacities  born  in  Jiim  without 
any  apparent  hereditary  bias,  and  which  might  have 
remained  entirely  lateiit  under  less  favourable  cir- 
cumstances. No  small  part  of  the  development  v/as 
due  to  the  people  among  whom  he  lived  ;  a  race 
of  men  accustomed  to'  rely  upon  their  senses  which 
were  always  with  them,  rather  than  upon  books 
which  they  seldom  saw,  even  if  they  were  able  to  read 
them  J  and  to  observe  not  only  all  that  lay  around 
them,  but  also  the  characteristics  of  their  fellow- 
men  with  whom  they  were  brought  into  contact — 
the  close  contact  of  different  classes  which  obtains 
in  village  and  rural  life.  Simpson  was  taught  to 
study  Nature  whether  in  field  or  fellow  -  creature 
first,  and  the  knowledge  and  opinions  of  men  as 
expressed  in  books  afterwards. 


i6 


CHAPTER    II 
Student    Days,      i  825-1 830. 

Visit  Lo  fidinburgli— Sent  to  the  University — Takes  the  Arts  classes- 
Gains  a  bursary — Influence  of  MacArthur  antt  Reid — Robert  Knox 
the  anatomist — The  Burke  and  Hare  murders — Superiority  of  tlie 
extra-mural  teachers  of  the  day — Edinburgh  an  intellectual  centre 
^University  life — His  mode  of  living  asi  student — Apprenticed 
to  a  chemist — Studies  surgery  under  Liston — Regularly  fnlis  asleep 
in  the  obstetric  class — Influence  of  his  teachers — Verse  writing — 
Description  of  the  mcilical  student  of  the  day — Vacation  work — 
Death  of  liis  father — Obtains  qualification  lo  practice  at  the  age  of 
eighteen. 

ALTHOUGH  Edinburgh  was  only  eighteen 
miles  from  Bathgate,  Simpson  visited  it  only 
once  as  a  schoolboy  ;  probably  he  walked  all  the  way, 
for  railroads  were  as  yet  unknown  and  it  was  not  a 
lojig  walk  for  a  country-bred  vigorous  youth.  He 
exercised  his  already  formed  habit  of  noting  objects  of 
interest  during  this  great  event  in  his  boyhood,  and  in 
his  journal  there  are  copies  of  old  inscriptions  from 
tombs  in  the  famous  Greyfriars'  Churchyard  to  which 
lie  made  his  pilgrimage. 

11  c 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

The  boy's  nearest  and  dearest  ambition  was  to 
become  a  student  at  "  the  College,"  as  Edinburgh 
University  was  familiarly  termed.  It  received  en- 
couragement in  the  periodical  return  to  the  village  of 
elder  boys  who  had  gone  up  before  him.  He  was 
specially  struck,  and  afterwards  stimulated,  by  the 
appearance  of  one  John  Reid,  his  senior  by  two  years, 
and  his  former  companion  in  many  a  country  ramble, 
who  came  back  for  the  vacations  smartened  up  both 
physically  and  mentally  by  the  new  life. 

Although  the  collegiate  life  characteristic  of  Oxford 
was  unkjiown  in  Scots  Universities,  there  was  social 
intercourse  amongst  the  boys  very  different  from 
that  of  the  village.  The  ajicient  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity attracted  students  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
mostly  for  the  medical  curriculum,  but  many  preceded 
the  professional  course  with  a  yeai-  or  two's  attend- 
ance on  the  Arts  classes  ;  and  it  was  usual  for  young 
Englishmen  of  good  family  to  spend  a  session  at  Edin- 
burgh before  going  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge.  Pro- 
bably before  he  ejitered  the  medical  classes,  Simpson 
rubbed  shoulders  with  lads  of  all  ranks  from  home, 
and  abroad.  Pillans  was  at  this  time  the  Professor  of 
Humajiity,  Wallace  held  the  chair  of  Mathematics, 
John  Wilson — better  known  as  Christopher  North — 
that  of  Moral  Philosophy,  and  Dunbar  was  Professor 
of  Greek.  Wallace  had  begun  life  as  a  bookbinder's 
apprentice,  and  Dunbar  had  risen  from  being  a 
gardener  ;    the   example  of  these  men   under    whose 

i8 


STUDENT   DAYS,    1825-1830 

influence  he  was  brought  encouraged  the  baker's  son 
to  go  and  do  likewise. 

The  family  had  sent  him  oflF  to  the  College  with 
the  mission  to  be  famous,  and  he  was  beginning  only 
in  an  orthodox  fashion  when  he  entered  himself  for  the 
curriculum  in  Arts.  It  had  been  easy  for  him,  with 
his  magnificent  brain  power,  to  stand  dux  of  the 
village  school  over  the  ordinary  village  youth  ;  but 
here,  in  Edinburgh,  he  was  brought  into  competition 
with  the  picked  boys  from  other  country  schools,  and 
intellectually  eager  youths  from  town  schools  where 
the  course  of  instruction  was  such  as  more  easily  to 
lead  to  early  University  success  than  that  of  the 
Bathgate  parish  school.  At  first  he  found  difficulty 
and  desponded.  The  keen  observer  with  senses  all 
alert  was  dashed  to  find  so  much  of  the  College  life  to 
which  he  had  so  eagerly  looked  forward  only  a  magni- 
fied repetition  of  the  dull  school  routine.  But  he  was 
too  intent  on  ultimate  success  to  be  repulsed  by  his 
initial  disappointment,  and  soon  brought  his  mind  into 
adjustment  with  the  circumstances  he  found  himself 
in,  reserving  leisure  time  and  vacations  for  the  exercise 
of  his  faculties  as  he  most  loved  to  exercise  them. 
He  did  not  persevere  in  the  Arts  course  after  he  found 
his  tastes  led  him  to  other  studies  ;  he  did  not  trouble 
to  obtain  the  Master  of  Arts  degree,  which  was  then 
conferred  in  a  very  lax  manner  ;  probably  he  saw  its 
worthlessness,  for  it  was  not  until  the  passing  of  the 
Scots  Universities  Act  in  1858  that  this  degree  became 

19 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

really  valuable.  He  recognised,  however,  the  value 
of  laying  a  good  foundation  of  general  know^ledge  ; 
w^ithout  straining  after  any  distinction  he  acquitted 
himself  creditably  in  all  his  classes.  In  the  second 
year  of  the  curriculum  he  won  one  of  the  numerous 
small  bursaries  of  the  value  of  ^lO  a  year,  for  which 
logic  was  one  of  the  chief  subjects  of  examination  ; 
but  as  candidates  were  restricted  to  those  who  pos- 
sessed either  the  name  of  the  founder,  Stewart,  or  that 
of  his  wife,  Simpson,  the  competition  was  not 
particularly  severe.  His  individuality  and  natural 
straightforwardness  attracted  the  attention  of  some 
of  his  professors.  The  boldness  of  his  original  essays 
provided  them  with  food  for  comment  in  a  manner 
dear  to  the  professorial  heart. 

The  Arts  curriculum  served  him  usefully  in  helping 
to  develop  a  literary  style  and  in  teaching  him  how 
best  to  express  his  vigorous  thoughts,  as  well  as  in 
strengthening  his  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
According  to  the  record  preserved  on  his  class  certifi- 
cates he  worked  attentively  and  diligently  ;  but  the 
mere  fact  that  he  did  not  excel  is  sufficient  proof  that 
he  did  not  make  an  attempt. 

During  his  Arts  course  Simpson  lodged  at  No.  i, 
Adam  Street,  along  with  the  John  Reid  already  men- 
-  tioned,  who  was  now  a  medical  student,  and  with  a 
Mr.  MacArthur,  who  had  been  a  junior  master  at  the 
Bathgate  school,  but  had  now  also  commenced  to 
study  medicine.      MacArthur  was  a  man  of  dogged 

20 


STUDENT   DAYS,    1825-1830 

determination  ;  he  urged  Simpson  to  persist  with  his 
Arts  course  when  his  spirit  seemed  to  rebel  against  it, 
and  so  long  as  they  were  together  seems  to  have  main- 
tained some  of  the  authority  of  the  usher  over  both 
of  the  youths.  The  spirit  of  work  was  strong  within 
him.  Soon  after  Simpson  joined  him  he  related  that 
he  could  then  do  with  four  hours'  sleep,  John  Reid 
with  six,  but  he  had  not  been  able  to  break  in  James 
yet.  What  MacArthur  and  the  Arts  course  could 
not  do,  however,  the  attraction  of  medicine  accom- 
plished without  eflfort,  and  Simpson  soon  formed  the 
habit  of  early  rising. 

It  seems  remarkable  that  so  much  study  should 
have  been  required  when,  compared  with  to-day,  the 
science  of  the  heahng  art  was  in  but  a  rudimentary 
condition.  The  teachers  of  the  day  had,  in  spite  of 
Sydenham,  a  great  regard  for  authority,  and  burdened 
their  students  with  much  that  is  utterly  unknown  to 
the  present  generation,  and,  if  known,  would  be 
regarded  as  worthless.  A  very  large  part  of  the 
curriculum  consisted  of  practical  and  bedside  work,  so 
that  book  study  was  necessarily  left  to  the  evening  or 
early  morning.  All  three  students,  moreover,  were 
fired  with  ambition,  and  thirsted  for  something  more 
than  mere  professional  knowledge.  MacArthur  con- 
stantly urged  on  his  two  young  friends,  and  foretold 
great  things  for  them  if  only  they  would  work. 
When  he  afterwards  heard  of  their  successes  he  used 
to  say,  "  Yes,  but  how  they  worked."    Simpson  became 

21 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

the  greatest  living  obstetrician,  and  Reid  rose  to  be 
Professor  of  Physiology  in  St.  Andrew's  University. 
MacArthur  never  became  famous  ;  his  name  is  known 
only  because  of  the  initial  impetus  which  his  influence 
gave  to  the  professional  careers  of  his  two  young 
friends. 

In  his  close  association  with  two  such  men  as 
MacArthur  and  Reid,  Simpson  was  again  fortunate  in 
his  environment.  The  art  of  medicine  was  also 
fortunate  inasmuch  as  at  the  right  moment  the  right 
influences  were  at  work  to  direct  his  mind  towards 
it.  While  occupied  in  mastering  the  laws  of 
hexameter  and  iambic  or  in  assimilating  the  prescribed 
portion  of  Virgil  and  Tacitus,  he  happily  now  and  then, 
living  with  two  such  enthusiastic  medical  students, 
got  a  taste  of  the  more  stimulating  study  of  things 
scientific — food  which  was  more  agreeable  to  his 
mental  palate,  more  suited  to  his  mental  digestion. 
By  peeps  into  anatomical  books,  by  little  demonstra- 
tions of  specimens  in  their  lodgings,  and  by  occasional 
visits  to  some  of  the  lecture  rooms  or  the  wards  of 
the  Infirmary,  his  appetite  was  whetted  for  that 
great  study  of  nature  which  his  youthful  training  at 
Bathgate  had  prepared  him  for,  and  for  which  his 
mental  constitution  was  specially  adapted.  One  can 
picture  the  eagerness  with  which  he  would  cast  aside 
the  finished  Greek  or  Latin  essay  and  urge  the  not 
unwilling  embryo  professor  to  demonstrate  a  bone  or 
lecture  on  an  anatomical  preparation. 

22 


STUDENT   DAYS,    1825-1830 

Sometimes  as  a  special  favour  he  was  taken  by  Reid 
to  hear  one  of  the  lectures  of  the  notorious  Robert 
Knox,  the  extra-academical  teacher  of  anatomy,  whose 
strong  personality  and  unrivalled  powers  as  a  lecturer 
were  at  that  time  attracting  to  Surgeon's  Square 
hundreds  of  students,  while  Munro  (Tertius)  was 
mechanically  repeating  his  grandfather's  lectures  from 
the  University  chair. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  1828,  when  Simpson 
was  just  about  commencing  his  m.edical  studies  that 
Edinburgh,  and  in  fact  the  whole  of  civilised  Europe, 
was  horrified  by  the  revelation  of  the  doings  of  Burke 
and  Hare,  when  they  were  at  last  brought  to  justice  for 
the  long  series  of  crimes  perpetrated  for  the  purpose  of 
selling  the  bodies  of  their  victims  to  the  anatomical 
schools.  Knox  having  a  class  of  some  four  hundred 
students  had  special  difficulty  in  meeting  the  demand 
for  "  subjects,"  and  it  was  brought  to  light  at  the 
trial  of  Burke  that  the  majority  of  the  bodies  were 
disposed  of  to  Knox.  As  was  only  natural,  a  fierce 
indignation  against  Knox  sprang  up  in  the  city.  His 
residence  was  assailed  and  his  effigy  burnt.  His  life 
was  in  danger  at  the  hands  of  the  mob  on  more  than 
one  occasion. 

Lord  Cockburn  in  his  "  Memorials  of  His  Time  " 
says  that  all  the  Edinburgh  anatomists  incurred  an 
unjust  and  very  alarming  though  not  an  unnatural 
odium — Dr.  Knox  in  particular,  against  whom  not 
only  the  anger  of  the  populace  but  the  condemnation 

23 


SIR    JAMES   SIMPSON 

of  more  intelligent  persons  was  directed.  "  But," 
he  says,  "  tried  in  reference  to  the  invariable  and  the 
necessary  practice  of  the  profession  our  anatomists 
were  spotlessly  correct  and  Knox  the  most  correct  of 
them  all." 

These  were  stirring  times  in  Edinburgh  medical 
circles.  The  strong,  cool  demeanour  of  Knox  under 
the  persecutions  to  which  he  was  subjected,  must  have 
made  an  indelible  impression  on  Simpson's  mind,  and 
the  memory  of  it  may  have  served  to  strengthen  him 
in  later  years  when  himself  subjected  to  the  unjust 
accusations  of  thoughtless  and  ignorant  people. 

One  night  when  Knox  had  attracted  a  large  class 
to  hear  him  on  a  favourite  subject,  the  crowd  in  the 
street  mustered  in  unusual  force  ;  the  yells  and  howls 
from  outside  were  heard  distinctly  in  the  class-room. 
The  students  got  alarmed,  and  kept  looking  to  the 
doors  of  egress.  Knox  perceiving  the  restlessness  and 
alarm  of  his  audience  paused,  and  then  addressed  to 
them  reassuring  words,  expressing  his  contempt  for  the 
cowardly  mob,  and  reminding  them  of  the  great 
men  who  at  different  tim.es  had  suffered  persecu- 
tion for  the  cause  of  their  science.  His  statement 
was  received  with  such  cheers  as  resounded  beyond 
the  class-room  walls  and  actually  cowed  the 
uproarious  mob,  so  loudly  did  the  students  applaud 
the  words  of  the  man  who,  they  knew,  daily  placed 
his  life  in  danger  in  order  to  lecture  to  them,  and 
whose   last    hour    seemed    to    have    come,  so    great 

24 


STUDENT    DAYS,    1825-1830 

and  threatening  was  the  crowd  on  this  particular 
evening. 

If  Simpson  did  not  actually  witness  such  a  scene  as 
the  foregoing — he  was  not  a  member  of  Knox's  class 
until  the  session  1830-31 — he  must  at  least  have 
known  full  well  about  it  at  the  time,  and  shared 
with  the  whole  body  of  students  the  worship  of  the 
man  as  a  hero.  His  fellow  lodger,  Reid,  was  not  only 
a  distinguished  pupil  in  Knox's  class,  but  became  one 
of  Knox's  demonstrators  in  1833,  ^^^  ^^^  always  a 
prominent  Knoxite.  We  know  also  that  Knox  went 
down  to  Bathgate  to  visit  Reid's  relations  there,  so 
that  it  is  justifiable  to  conclude  that  Simpson  came 
closely  in  contact  with  this  remarkable  teacher.  That 
the  relationship  between  Reid  and  Simpson  was  most 
intimate  we  have  the  former's  own  words  for.  At  a 
public  dinner  given  to  him  when  appointed  to  his 
professorship  in  1841,  he  said,  "In  the  croupier 
(Simpson)  I  recognise  my  earliest  friend,  a  native  of 
the  same  village.  We  were  rivals  at  school  and  at 
college.  We  stood  to  each  other  from  boyhood  up- 
wards in  every  possible  relation,  whether  of  an  educa- 
tional, warlike,  delicate,  or  social  character,  which  the 
warm  and  fitful  feelings  peculiar  to  boyhood  and  youth 
can  produce." 

In  the  end  Knox  and  Reid  quarrelled  over  a  scien- 
tific matter.  Knox  never  recovered  from  the  effect  of 
the  Burke  and  Hare  incident;  in  spite  of  the  favour- 
able report  of  an  influential  committee  appointed  to 

25 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

inquire  into  his  share  in  the  proceedings,  and  his  own 
explicit  statements,  the  pubh'c  never  acquitted  him  or 
at  least  a  wilful  shutting  of  his  eyes  to  much  that 
ought  to  have  aroused  his  suspicions.  His  crowded 
class-room  gradually  became  empty  during  the  next 
few  years,  and  the  once  brilliant,  talented,  and  deter- 
mined man  became  demoralised  and  left  Edinburgh. 
Christison  says  that  Knox  finally  died  almost  destitute 
in  London,  and  that  one  of  his  last  occupations  was 
that  of  showman  to  a  party  of  travelling  Ojibbeway 
Indians. 

However  the  strong  personality  and  attractive 
lecturing  of  Knox  may  have  influenced  him,  it  is 
undoubted  that  to  the  personal  influence  of  Mac- 
Arthur  and  Reid,  acting  upon  his  constant  hunger  to 
know  nature  arnd  truth,  stimulated  as  it  was  by  what 
he  saw  of  anatomy  and  physiology,  v/e  owe  the  fact 
that  Simpson  decided  to  enter  the  medical  profession. 

Although  the  number  of  medical  students  in  Edin- 
burgh University  reached  one  of  its  highest  points 
during  the  years  that  Simpson  was  a  student,  it  is 
remarkable  that  with  one,  or  perhaps  two,  exceptions, 
the  University  professors  were  men  of  no  marked 
eminence  in  their  various  subjects.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  extra-mural  teachers  included  men  of  such 
wide  reputation  as  Knox,  Lizars,  and  Liston.  Syme, 
who  reached  the  height  of  his  fame  as  a  surgeon  about 
the  same  time  that  Simpson  became  renowned,  had 
just    resigned    the    teaching  of  anatomy   to   take  up 

26 


STUDENT   DAYS,    1825-1830 

surgery  ;  shut  out  at  first  from  the  wards  of  the 
Royal  Infirmary  by  jealous  colleagues,  he  was  boldly 
establishing  for  himself  the  little  Minto  House  Hos- 
pital, which  became  the  successful  nursery  of  his  own 
unsurpassed  system  of  clinical  teaching,  and  remains 
in  the  recollection  to  this  day  as  the  principal  scene 
of  Dr.  John  Brown's  pathetic  story,  "  Rab  and  his 
Friends."  It  was  chiefly  these  extra-academical 
teachers  who  at  that  time  made  the  medical  school 
famous,  and  were  raising  for  it  a  reputation  in  surgery 
such  as  it  had  acquired  in  physic  in  the  days  of  CuUen. 
In  certain  subjects  the  students  would,  according  to 
the  regulations  for  the  degree,  take  out  their  tickets 
of  attendance  on  the  professor's  course  of  lectures,  but 
would  put  in  only  a  sufficient  number  of  appearances 
to  entitle  them  to  the  necessary  certificates  ;  the  real 
study  of  the  subject  being  made  under  the  more 
accomplished  teacher  outside  the  University  walls. 

Edinburgh  was  at  this  period  much  more  than  the 
scene  of  the  foremost  medical  and  surgical  teaching  of 
the  day  in  the  world.  It  was  a  striking  centre  of  in- 
tellectual activity.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Cockburn,  and 
Jeffrey  were  famous  in  literature  and  politics ; 
Chalmers  and  Moncrieff  in  Church  affairs  ;  and 
Aytoun,  John  Wilson,  Sir  William  Hamilton,  and 
Sir  David  Brewster  were  names,  that  attracted  men 
from  far  and  wide  to  the  modern  Athens.  English 
and  foreign  advocates,  scholars,  artists,  squires,  and 
noblemen  mingled   together  to   hear  or  see   some   of 

27 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

these  men.  Lord  John  Russell,  Henry  Temple — 
subsequently  Lord  Palmerston — and  Lord  Melbourne 
were  amongst  the  young  Englishmen  who  attended 
university  classes  for  a  session  or  two  ;  and  H.R.H. 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  his  brother  the  Duke  of 
Edinburgh,  each  matriculated  in  later  days.  When 
Simpson  began  his  studies  Knox  was  the  great  lion, 
without  a  visit  to  whose  class-room  no  sojourn  in 
Edinburgh  was  complete  ;  just  as  in  later  years 
Simpson's  house  in  Queen  Street  was  the  resort  of  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  distinguished  people. 

The  University  had  little  control  over  her  students 
once  they  were  outside  the  gates  of  the  quadrangle. 
There  were  no  residential  colleges  ;  each  youth  found 
lodgings  for  himself  suitable  to  his  means,  and  led  a 
perfectly  independent  life.  So  long  as  he  conducted 
himself  with  propriety  within  her  walls  his  Alma 
Mater  cared  little  how  he  conducted  himself  or  how 
he  fared  outside.  Before  1858,  when  the  Town 
Council  controlled  University  affairs,  there  were 
sometimes  attempts  to  order  the  comings  and  goings 
of  students.  It  is  recorded  that  in  1635  the  Town 
Council  discovered  that  the  scholars  of  the  College 
were  much  withdrawn  from  their  studies  by  "  invita- 
tions to  burials,"  which  "prejudiced  their  advance- 
ment in  learning,"  and  they  enacted  that  no  student 
was  to  be  permitted  to  attend  burials  except  those  of 
University  or  city  worthies.  This  was  at  a  time  when 
some  of  the  students  were   provided  with  residences 

28 


STUDENT   DAYS,    1825-1830 

inside  the  University,  but  by  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  College  residence  had  ceased. 
From  time  to  time  attempts  have  been  made  to  render 
the  students  conspicuous  in. the  city  by  the  wearing 
of  red  gowns,  but  without  success  ;  and  those  of  all 
faculties  continue  to  be  their  own  masters,  in  marked 
contrast  to  the  mode  of  government  in  force  at  Oxford 
and  Cambridge.  Recently,  in  the  eighties,  a  batch  of 
students  who  had  figured  in  the  police-court  after  a 
riot  in  the  gallery  of  a  theatre  were  surprised  to  find 
themselves  summoned  before  the  Senatus  Academicus 
and  rusticated  for  varying  periods  ;  this,  however,  was 
but  a  spasmodic  exercise  of  power.  The  chief  advan- 
tage claimed  for  this  custom  of  leaving  the  student  to 
his  own  devices  is  that  it  encourages  independence  and 
develops  each  man's  individuahty  better  than  a  system 
of  discipline  and  control.  In  men  of  Simpson's  calibre 
it  certainly  has  had  a  good  eirect. 

Although  the  family  in  Bathgate  strained  every 
nerve  to  keep  James  well  supplied  with  the  neces- 
sary funds  as  a  student,  they  were  not  able  to  place 
him  in  such  a  pecuniary  position  as  to  make  it  un- 
necessary for  him  to  exercise  economy.  He  appears 
to  have  been  very  careful  indeed  of  the  money  which 
he  had  ;  much  more  careful  than  when  he  reckoned 
his  income  by  thousands.  He  kept  methodical 
accounts  of  his  expenses  down  to  the  most  trivial 
items,  and  regularly  submitted  them  to  his  family. 
His  cash-book   opened  with   the   following  quotation 

29 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

from  a  small  book  called  the  "  Economy  of  Life,"  which 
figures  at  a  cost  of  ninepence  : — "  Let  not  thy  recrea- 
tions be  expensive  lest  the  pain  of  purchasing  them 
exceed  the  pleasure  thou  hast  in  their  enjoyment  "  ; 
and  to  this  he  added  : — 

"  No  trivial  gain  nor  trivial  loss  despise  ; 
Mole-hills,  if  often  heaped,  to  mountains  rise. 
Weigh  every  small  expense  and  nothing  waste  ; 
Farthings  long  saved  amount  to  pounds  at  last." 

It  is  easy  to  see  here  the  imprint  of  a  well-known 
national  characteristic,  from  which,  however,  he  com- 
pletely shook  himself  free  when  prosperity  came  to  him. 

His  share  of  the  rent  of  the  Adam  Street  lodging 
amounted  to  only  three  shillings  a  week.  The  entries 
in  the  cash-book  show  how  frugally  he  lived  and  how 
every  spare  sum  was  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  books. 
His  library,  the  foundation  of  much  of  his  encyclo- 
paedic knowledge,  was  a  curious  mixture.  Adam's 
"Antiquities,"  Milton's  Poems,  Byron's  "Giaour"  and 
"  Childe  Harold,"  a  Church  Bible,  Paley's  "  Natural 
Theology,"  Fife's  "  Anatomy,"  and  "  The  Fortunes 
of  Nigel,"  were  amongst  those  entered  as  purchased. 
The  daily  entries  were  such  as  the  following  : — "  Sub- 
ject (anatomical),  £^i  ;  spoon,  6d.  ;  bread  and  tart, 
IS.  8d.  Duncan's  Therapeutics,  Qd.  ;  snuflF,  ijd.  ; 
Early  Rising,  9jd." 

He  followed  out  the  usual  student's  custom  of  the 
day  of  learning  dispensing  by  serving  for  a  time  in  a 
chemist's  shop.     The  late  Dr.  Keiller,  of  Edinburgh, 

30 


STUDENT    DAYS,    1825-1830 

used  to  relate  how,  while  he  himself  was  so  employed 
in  a  chemist's  shop  in  Dundas  Street,  one  day  "  a  little 
fellow  with  a  big  head  "  was  brought  in  and  entered 
as  a  pupil  by  a  relative.  The  little  fellow  was  Simpson, 
and  no  sooner  was  he  left  in  the  shop  than  he  sat  down 
with  a  book  upon  drugs,  and  turning  to  the  shelves  took 
down  drug  after  drug  to  read  up.  The  prompt  industry 
of  the  big-headed  fellow  deeply  impressed  Keiller. 

James  attended  most  of  the  University  classes,  but 
studied  surgery  under  the  great  Robert  Liston,  the 
foremost  extra-mural  surgeon,  daring  and  skilful  as  an 
operator  and  of  great  repute  as  a  lecturer,  who  after- 
wards filled  the  post  of  Professor  of  Clinical  Surgery 
in  University  College  Hospital,  London.  Liston  was 
an  abrupt-mannered  but  sincere  man,  and  a  keen 
lover  of  truth.  He  was  a  warm  advocate  of  hospital 
reform,  and  was  successful  in  introducing  several 
needed  improvements  into  the  Royal  Lifirmary  after 
a  fierce  fight.  Here  again  Simpson  was  brought 
under  the  influence  of  a  strong,  self-reliant  man 
with  a  distinct  tendency  towards  controversy,  to 
whom  he  was  also  attracted  by  the  fact  that  Liston 
was  a  native  of  Linlithgowshire.  Liston  and  Syme, 
after  being  close  colleagues,  quarrelled  most  fiercely, 
and  were  bitter  rivals  until  Liston  removed  to  London 
in  1835.  Simpson  attended  Liston's  lectures  during 
three  sessions. 

There  is  no  record  of  his  having  obtained  great 
distinction    in    any    of    the    medical    classes,    but    his 

31 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

certificates  show  that  he  worked  with  pre-eminent 
diligence  in  them  all,  and  obtained  a  characteristic 
mastery  of  each  subject.  If  any  exception  occurred  it 
was  in  the  very  subject  in  which  he  afterwards  earned 
his  greatest  scientific  fame — that  of  obstetrics.  He 
attended  Professor  James  Hamilton's  course  of  lectures 
on  that  subject  early  in  his  career,  and  apparently  felt 
so  little  interest — the  subject  only  became  a  com- 
pulsory one  for  examination  for  qualification  in  1830 
— that  he  regularly  went  to  sleep  during  the  lecture. 
The  excuse  urged  was  that  the  lecture  being  a  late 
one,  three  to  four  in  the  afternoon,  it  found  him  tired 
out  after  a  long  morning  of  study,  lectures,  and 
practical  work.  But  had  he  been  keenly  interested 
he  would  have  been  wide  awake,  for  Hamilton  was 
a  forcible,  if  pjain,  lecturer. 

Hamilton  was  another  of  Simpson's  teachers  who 
exhibited  the  same  uncompromising  fighting  character- 
istics— eager  and  strenuous  in  his  efforts  to  obtain 
some  object — which  Simpson  himself  afterwards  dis- 
played. He  fought  hard  for  fifteen  years  to  gain 
recognition  for  the  subject  which  he  taught,  and  to 
have  it  included  in  those  necessary  for  qualification. 
He  succeeded  in  the  end,  but  in  the  course  of  the 
struggle  had  to  bring  two  actions  at  law  against  pro- 
fessional brethren.  In  one  the  defendant  was  Dr. 
Gregory,  whose  teaching  was  mainly  responsible  for 
the  British  system  of  medical  practice  in  the  early 
part  of  this  century,  viz.,  free  purging,  free  bleeding, 

32 


STUDENT    DAYS,    1 825-1 830 

and  frequent  blistering,  and  who  was  the  inventor  of 
that  well  known  household  remedy,  Gregory's  powder. 
Gregory  was  also  a  pugnacious  man  and  could  not 
abide  the  pretensions  of  the  representative  of  the 
despised  art  of  midwifery  ;  he  administered  a  public 
caning  to  him,  and  had  to  pay  ;/^iOO  in  damages 
which,  it  is  said,  he  offered  to  pay  over  again  for 
another  opportunity  of  thrashing  the  little  obstetrician. 
This  encounter  occurred  before  Simpson  became  a 
student,  but  the  memory  of  it  was  frequently  re- 
vived in  the  subsequent  disputes  which  Hamilton 
carried  on. 

The  notes  which  Simpson  took  of  the  curriculum 
lectures  were  concisely  made  and  full  of  comments, 
criticisms,  and  queries.  He  by  no  means  bowed  down 
to  authority  ;  he  allowed  nothing  to  pass  which  he 
did  not  understand  at  the  time,  and  specially  noted 
points  which  it  seemed  to  him  his  teachers  themselves 
did  not  understand. 

Like  most  young  men  of  his  abilities  and  tempera- 
ment, Simpson  took  pleasure  in  rhyming,  and  some  of 
his  verses  are  preserved.  They  indicate  something  of 
the  rollicking  spirit  of  the  medical  student's  life  seventy 
years  ago.  The  medical  student  at  that  date  has  been 
described  in  a  recent  interesting  sketch  of  Edinburgh 
student  life  as  wearing  a  white  great-coat  and  talking 
loud  ;  his  hat  was  inclined  knowingly  to  one  side  of  his 
head,  and  the  bright  hues  of  an  Oriental  handkerchief 
decorated  his  neck.    There  was  a  great  deal  of  acting  in 

33  ^ 


SIR    JAMES  SIMPSON 

his  motions.  He  was  first  at  the  door  of  the  theatre  on  a 
Saturday  night,  and  regardless  of  the  damages  sustained 
by  the  skirts  of  his  coat,  secured  the  very  middle  seat 
of  the  fifth  row  of  benches  in  the  pit.  Simpson,  how- 
ever, hardly  conformed  to  this  description.  He 
enjoyed  recreation  as  much  as  any  man,  and  had  a 
keen  sense  of  humour  which  made  him  popular  among 
his  fellow  students,  but  he  was  saturated  with  the  love 
of  study  and  was  not  led  into  extravagances  of  the 
Bob  Sawyer  type,  or  the  harmless  inanities  of  Albert 
Smith's  immortal  Medical  Student. 

During  the  long  summer  vacation  he  noted  care- 
fully his  observations  on  the  botany,  zoology,  geology, 
and  even  the  meteorology  of  the  Bathgate  district. 
Dr.  Duns,  in  his  memoir,  points  out  that  he  was  much 
more  at  home  with  the  phenomena  of  organic  than 
with  those  of  inorganic  forms.  His  highest  powers 
came  into  play  when  he  had  to  do  with  the  presence 
of  life  and  its  varied  manifestations.  Even  his  anti- 
quarian notes  illustrated  this.  He  passed  at  once  from 
the  things  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  men 
associated  with  them. 

In  the  holidays  he  also  assisted  the  village  doctor 
in  visiting  and  dispensing,  and  lent  a  willing  hand 
in  his  father's  shop  when  he  was  wanted,  often  enough 
driving  the  baker's  cart  on  the  daily  round  of  bread 
delivery. 

In  January  of  the  year  1830  his  father  was  taken 
seriously   ill,  and  James    hastily   left    Edinburgh  and 

34 


STUDENT   DAYS,    1825-1830 

tended  him  till  his  death.  On  his  return  he  presented 
himself  for  the  final  examination  at  the  College  of 
Surgeons.  This  he  passed  with  ease  and  credit  in 
April,  and  found  himself  a  fully  qualified  medical 
practitioner  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 


35 


CHAPTER   III 

Further  Studies,     i 830-1 835 

Applies  for  a  village  appointment — Disappointment — Brother's  help  to 
further  studies — Dispensary  assistant — Obtains  University  M.D., 
1832 — Thesis — Assistant  to  the  Professor  of  Pathology — Turns  to 
obstetrics — Attends  Professor  Hamilton's  lectures  again — Royal 
Medical  and  Royal  Physical  Societies — Edward  Forbes — The 
Oineromathic  Society — Foreign  tour — Visits  Liverpool  and  meets 
Miss  Jessie  Grindlay — His  characteristics,  principles,  and  m.ethods, 
with  extracts  from  addresses. 

THERE  now  came  the  first  crisis  in  Simpson's 
medical  career.  After  his  father's  death  he  felt 
that  having  obtained  his  qualification  to  practise  it  was 
his  duty  to  relieve  his  family  of  the  burden  of  support- 
ing him  through  more  extended  studies.  After  due 
deliberation  he  applied  for  a  small  appointment  which 
would  have  served  as  a  nucleus  for  private  practice, 
that  of  parish  surgeon  to  a  small  village  on  the  banks 
of  the  Clyde.  Those  in  whose  hands  the  appoint- 
ment lay  were  not  impressed  with  his  fitness  for  the 
post,  and  he  was  not  elected.  "  I  felt,"  he  afterwards 
said,   "  a  deeper  amount   of  chagrin   and   disappoint- 

36 


FURTHER   STUDIES,    1830-1835 

ment  than  I  have  ever  experienced  since  that  date.  If 
chosen,  I  would  probably  have  been  working  there  as 
a  village  doctor  still."  Although  such  a  commence- 
ment might  have  delayed  his  ultimate  rise  to  eminence, 
it  cannot  be  agreed  that  it  could  possibly  have  prevented 
it.  It  was  at  this  crisis  that  what  he  tenderly  referred 
to  as  "  the  ceaseless  love  and  kindness  of  a  dear  elder 
brother  "  came  to  his  rescue,  and  by  Alexander's  or, 
as  he  affectionately  called  him,  "  Sandy's  "  help,  he 
returned  to  Edinburo;h  to  resume  his  studies  in  the 
winter  session,  1830-31.  His  other  brother,  David, 
had  started  in  business  as  a  baker  at  Stockbridge,  close 
to  Edinburgh,  and  James  boarded  with  him  there  for 
a  time.  His  qualification  enabled  him  to  become 
assistant  to  a  Dr.  Gairdner  in  dispensary  practice,  a 
class  of  work  he  had  had  some  experience  of  in  the 
previous  year  while  staying  with  Dr.  Girdwood  at 
Falkirk  during  the  summer.  Dr.  Gairdner  was  much 
struck  with  Simpson's  abilities,  which  he  stated, 
"  promised  the  most  flattering  expectations."  In  the 
course  of  his  first  experiences  of  actual  practice  he 
became  impressed  with  the  necessity  for  a  knov/ledge 
of  obstetrics,  and  therefore  attended  lectures  on  the 
subject  by  Dr.  Thatcher,  an  extra-mural  teacher  of 
repute,  who  subsequently  applied  for  the  University 
chair  of  midwifery  when  Simpson  was  the  successful 
candidate. 

His  chief  object,    however,  was  to  qualify   for  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  of  the  University,  and 

37 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

this  he  succeeded  in  doing  in  1832.  The  regulations 
for  this  coveted  degree  were,  for  the  times,  wonderfully 
complete  ;  it  was  held  in  such  high  estimation  and 
such  large  numbers  qualified  annually — in  1827  there 
were  one  hundred  and  sixty  graduates  —  that  the 
authorities  felt  justified  in  being  stringent.  The 
length  of  the  course  of  study  necessary  for  gradua- 
tion had  been  fixed  at  four  years,  and  required  the 
candidate  to  have  attended  classes  in  Anatomy, 
Surgery,  Materia  Medica,  and  Pharmacy,  the 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  Clinical  Medicine, 
Midwifery,  Chemistry,  and  Botany,  as  well  as  a  three 
months'  course  in  any  two  of  the  following : — 
Practical  Anatomy,  Natural  History,  Medical  Juris- 
prudence, Clinical  Surgery,  and  Military  Surgery. 
The  first  step  iii  examination  took  place  at  the  house 
of  one  of  the  professors  where  the  candidate  v/as 
questioned  in  literary  subjects,  chiefly  Latin,  and  in 
the  different  branches  of  Medicine  and  Surgery.  If 
he  passed  this  satisfactorily  he  was  examined  more 
mJnutely  by  tvv^o  professors  in  the  presence  of  the 
others,  and  w^as  subsequently  given  two  Aphorisms  of 
Hippocrates  to  explain  and  illustrate  in  writing  and  to 
defend  before  the  faculty,  as  well  as  two  cases  with 
questions  attached.  The  last  step  was  the  presenting 
of  a  thesis  which  was  read  by  one  of  the  faculty  and 
was  publicly  defended  by  the  candidate  on  the  day  of 
graduation.  All  this  examination  was  conducted  in 
Latin.      Simpson's    thesis  was    entitled  :    "  De   causa 

38 


FURTHER    STUDIES,   1830-1835 

mortis  in  quibusda?n  inflammatioyiibus  proximal  He 
was  amongst  the  last  graduates  who  were  examined 
through  the  medium  of  Latin,  for  after  1833  the 
language  was  optional,  and  English  soon  became  the 
only  one  used  ;  at  the  same  time  the  examinations 
were  differently  arranged,  and  made  to  consist  of  more 
thorough  and  prolonged  written  and  oral  stages. 
Being  on  a  pathological  subject,  Simpson's  thesis  was 
allotted  to  Thomson,  the  professor  of  Pathology, 
to  examine,  who  not  only  recommended  the  author 
for  the  degree,  but  was  so  impressed  by  the  ability 
displayed  in  the  dissertation  that  he  sought  him  out 
and  promptly  offered  him  the  post  of  assistant,  which 
Simpson  as  promptly  accepted.  This  appointment 
was  most  welcome.  Not  only  did  it  give  him  a 
much  desired  opportunity  for  pathological  work,  but 
the  salary  of  ^50  a  year  enabled  him  to  free  his  family 
from  the  immediate  necessity  of  supporting  him. 

If  to  MacArthur  and  John  Reid  was  due  the  credit 
of  first  directing  Simpson's  thoughts  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  to  Professor  John  Thomson  belongs  the 
credit  of  having  made  him  an  obstetrician.  "  At 
Dr.  Thomson's  earnest  suggestion  and  advice,"  says 
Simpson,  "  I  first  turned  more  especially  to  the  study 
of  midwifery  with  the  view  of  becoming  a  teacher  of 
this  department  of  medical  science."  He  lost  no  time 
in  throwing  himself  heartily  into  the  work  that  was 
nearest  to  him,  and  became  almost  indispensable 
to    his    chief.      Most   of  his    time    was  spent  in   the 

39 


SIR    JAMES    SIMPSON 

Pathological  Museum,  busily  engaged  in  arranging, 
classifying,  and  describing  the  preparations,  but  he  also 
assisted  in  preparing  the  professor's  lectures.  He  took 
up  more  readily  than  Thomson  the  then  new  mode 
of  study  by  the  microscope,  and  it  is  related  that  once 
he  composed  a  lecture  for  his  chief  on  this  subject 
which  Thomson  delivered  without  previous  perusal. 
Several  times  as  Thompson  read  the  lecture  to  the  class 
he  looked  up  to  glare  at  his  assistant,  and  when  they 
returned  to  the  side  room  he  shook  his  fist  in  his  face, 
saying,  "  I  don't  believe  one  d — d  word  of  it." 

Although  Simpson  was  now  earning  enough  by  his 
salary  as  assistant  to  meet  his  expenses  at  the  time,  his 
family  maintained  their  loving  interest  in  his  welfare. 
His  sister  told  him  he  was  working  too  hard  and 
hurting  his  health.  "  Well,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  sure 
it  is  just  to  please  you  all." 

Sandy,  who  had  married  in  1832,  watched  his 
career  carefully,  and  when  the  cholera  made  its 
appearance  in  Scotland  he  made  a  will  with  a  pro- 
vision for  "  my  dear  James  "  iji  the  event  of  his  death. 
"I  daresay,"  he  addressed  his  family  therein,  "every 
one  of  you  has  a  pleasure  in  doing  him  good  by 
stealth  as  I  have  had  myself." 

By  Thomson's  advice  Simpson  attended  Hamilton's 
lectures  in  the  winter  session  1833-4,  and  this  time 
with  awakened  interest.  With  the  definite  object 
of  devoting  himself  to  Midwifery  clearly  in  view 
Simpson    worked    with    all    his    phenomenal    energy 

40 


FURTHER   STUDIES,    1830-1835 

during  the  years  from  1832  to  1835,  studying  the 
subject  while  he  was  helping  Thomson.  He  entered 
the  front  rank  of  the  young  graduates  of  his  day,  and 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Royal  Medical  and 
Royal  Physical  Societies  in  the  same  year,  1833.  Both 
these  societies  were  for  the  encouragement  of  scien- 
tific study  and  discussion  among  students  and  young 
graduates,  and  to  obtain  the  Presidential  chair  of  either 
was  a  high  honour.  The  Royal  Medical  Society  was 
the  oldest  Society  in  the  University,  having  been  estab- 
li'ohed  in  1737  by  the  great  CuUen  and  others  ;  it  had 
always  been  of  great  account  in  the  University,  and 
the  originality  of  the  utterances  on  professional  matters 
which  emanated  from  it  made  it  then  a  power  to  be 
reckoned  vv^ith  not  only  in  Edinburgh,  but  throughout 
European  professional  circles.  For  membership  of 
the  Royal  Physical  Society  he  was  proposed  by 
Edward  Forbes,  a  brilliant  youth,  who  subsequently 
distinguished  himself  in  Natural  History,  and  held 
the  University  Chair  in  that  subject  for  a  brief  period 
until  cut  down  prematurely  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine. 
Forbes  was  the  leader  of  a  set  of  able  young  students 
who  have  left  a  distinct  mark  in  the  history  of  the 
University.  John  Reid  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Forbes,  and  Simpson  was  probably  as  intimate  with 
him.  Forbes  was  the  founder  and  editor  of  the  best 
of  all  the  shortlived  literary  ventures  of  Edinburgh 
undergraduates — The  University  Maga^  which  was 
issued   weekly  in    1834  ;  and  he  was  also  one  of  the 

41 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

founders  of  the  Oineromathic  Society,  "  The  brother- 
hood of  the  friends  of  Truth."  Forbes  thus  described 
the  nature  of  this  Society  in  song  : — 

"Some  love  to  stray  through  lands  far  away, 

Some  love  to  roam  on  the  sea, 
But  an  antique  cell  an  1  a  college  bell, 

And  a  student's  life  for  me. 
For  palace  or  cot,  for  mead  or  grot 

I  never  would  care  or  pine. 
But  spend  my  days  in  twining  lays 

To  Learning,  Love,  and  Wine." 

"  Wine,  Love,  and  Learning  "  was  the  motto  of  this 
curious  brotherhood,  and  it  numbered  in  its  member- 
ship many  men  of  the  day,  who  afterwards  became 
eminent,  such  as  Forbes  himself,  Reid,  George  Wilson, 
Goodsir,  and  Bennet.  Simpson  must  have  been  quite 
cognisant  of  this  Society's  doings ;  he  was  closely 
associated  with  its  leaders,  but  his  name  does  not 
appear  in  any  of  the  lists  of  members  still  preserved. 
His  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  MA9HSIS  pro- 
bably prevented  his  uniting  with  the  brotherhood  to 
worship  the  EPOS  and  OINOS.  The  brotherhood 
was  conspicuously  united.  In  the  great  snowball 
riot  of  1837,  which  was  quelled  only  by  the  reading 
of  the  Riot  Act  and  the  marching  down  at  the  double 
from  the  Castle  of  the  Cameron  Highlanders  into 
the  University  gates,  they  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder. 

In  1835  Simpson  felt  that  the  time  had  come  to 
enter  into  serious  practice  and  turn  his  acquired  know- 
ledge to  account.     Fifty  pounds  a  year  was  no  large 

42 


FURTHER    STUDIES,    1830-1835 

income  on  which  to  satisfy  his  craving  for  learning, 
and  there  was  no  surplus  from  which  by  any  means 
to  repay  his  family  for  their  assistance.  Before  taking 
any  decided  step,  however,  he  desired  to  pay  a  visit  to 
the  Continental  centres  of  medical  science  and  teaching. 
The  funds  for  the  proposed  tour  were  promptly  found 
by  his  brothers  Alexander  and  John  ;  by  their  assistance 
he  was  enabled  to  visit  Paris,  Liege,  and  Brussels,  as 
well  as  London  and  Oxford.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Dr.  (now  Sir  Douglas)  Maclagan,  and  kept  a  journal 
of  the  tour,  which  is  an  interesting  example  of  his 
lively  powers  of  observation.  In  London  he  visited 
the  leading  hospitals,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  leading  physicians  and  surgeons,  amongst  whom 
were  many  alumni  of  his  own  alma  mater.  In  the 
journal  he  freely  and  concisely  criticised  the  men, 
their  methods,  and  their  hospitals.  In  Paris  he 
followed  the  same  plan,  going  the  round  of  all  the 
hospitals,  and  searching  for  and  grasping  the  prin- 
ciple which  guided  each  distinguished  man's  thought 
and  teaching.  He  took  more  than  a  medical  interest 
in  all  that  he  saw,  and  noted  the  appearance  and 
habits  of  the  people  of  each  place  that  he  visited. 
At  the  end  of  his  coach  ride  from  London  to  South- 
ampton, on  the  way  to  Paris,  he  sat  down  to  write  : — 
"  The  ride  as  far  as  Windsor  Park  was  delightful,  and 
from  the  top  of  the  coach  we  had  two  or  three  most 
lovely  glimpses  of  EngHsh  scenery.  After  passing 
Windsor  the  soil  was   rather  inferior  in  many   parts, 

43 


SIR    TAMES   SIMPSON 

and  we  passed  every  now  and  then  large  tracts  of 
heath.  .  .  .  The  neatness  and  cleanliness  of  the 
English  cottages  is  greatly  superior  to  all  that  we 
have  in  Scotland  ;  the  little  patches  of  garden  ground 
before,  behind,  and  around  them  set  them  off 
amazingly.  I  wish  the  Scottish  peasantry  could  by 
some  means  or  other  be  excited  to  a  little  more 
love  of  cleanliness  and  horticulture.  I  did  not  see 
above  two  or  three  dirty  windows,  men  or  women 
along  the  whole  line  of  road.  The  snow-white 
smock-frocks  of  the  Hampshire  peasantry  do  actually 
look  well  in  my  opinion." 

At  Liege  on  June  13th  he  wrote: — "And  is  it 
possible  that  I  here  begin  a  second  volume  of  a 
journal  ?  .  .  .  I  began  my  journal  chiefly  with  some 
distant  prospect  of  teaching  myself  the  important 
lesson  of  daily  notation.  I  am  vain  enough  to  flatter 
myself  nov/  that  I  have  partly  at  least  succeeded.  At 
all  events  that  which  was  at  first  a  sort  of  task,  at 
times  rather  an  annoying  task,  has  now  become  to  me 
a  pleasure.  If  I  had  my  first  volume  to  write  over 
again  I  think  I  would  now  write  it  twenty  times 
better.  In  writing  a  journal  'tis  needless  to  think 
of  making  no  blundei-s  in  the  way  of  blots  and  bad 
grammar  or  of  crooked  sentences.  We,  or  at  least  I, 
have  occasionally  felt  so  confoundedly  tired  at  night 
that  if  I  had  been  obliged  to  attend  to  such  minutiae 
I  certainly  would  not  have  been  able  to  advance  above 
two  sentences. 

44 


FURTHER    STUDIES    1830-1835 

"  This  morning  rose  by  half-past  seven — dressed 
and  breakfasted  on  coffee  and  rolls,  read  the  Liege 
Courier^  and  by  nine  o'clock  called  on  Professor 
Fohman  with  a  copy  of  Dr.  Reid's  paper  on  the 
glands  of  the  whale,  which  I  had  promised  him  yester- 
day. The  Professor  kept  us  until  five  minutes  to  ten, 
lecturing  us  on  his  discoveries  upon  the  original 
elementary  tubular  structure  of  animal  tissues.  Some- 
body has  remarked  that  no  person  ever  entered  into  or 
at  least  came  out  of  the  study  of  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion without  being  either  mad  before  or  mad  after  it. 
I  would  not  choose  to  say  that  Dr.  F.'s  case  is  perfectly 
analogous,  but  has  it  not  some  analogy  r  He  seems  to 
run  wild  on  elementary  tubular  texture ;  ....  he 
hates  Lippi  and  his  researches  with  a  perfect  hatred. 
Lippi  has  been  preferred  to  him  by  the  Parisian 
Academy.  Is  he  not  working  against  Lippi,  and  it 
may  be  against  truth,  if  they  happen  to  go  together, 
which  I  do  not  believe  ? 

"  We  have  taken  our  seats  in  the  diligence  to- 
morrow for  Louvain,  and  on  leaving  Liege  I  must 
confess  that  I  leave  one  of  the  most  lovely  places 
I  have  seen  on  the  Continent.  'Tis  rich,  populous, 
busy  ;  the  town  in  itself  is  old  and  good,  though  not 
so  neat  and  clean  as  Mons  ;  its  environs  wild  and 
romantic.  Besides  it  seems  full  of  good-natured  gash 
old  wives,  and  sonsy,  laughing-faced,  good-looking, 
nay,  some  of  them  very  good-looking  girls." 

The  homeward  journey  was  made  via  Birmingham, 
45 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

Liverpool,  and  Glasgow.  In  Liverpool  he  called  upon 
a  distant  relative  named  Grindlay,  established  there  as 
a  shipper,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  life-long 
friendship  w^ith  the  family.  He  also  then  for  the 
first  time  met  Miss  Jessie  Grindlay  who  afterwards 
became  his  wife. 

With  the  end  of  this  tour,  Simpson  brought  to 
a  close  the  more  strictly  student  part  of  his  career, 
although  it  remained  true  of  him,  as  of  all  eminent 
scientific  men,  that  he  was  a  student  to  the  end  of  his 
days.  He  felt  himself  now  fully  equipped  to  enter 
into  the  professional  battle,  and  he  stepped  into  the 
arena,  not  only  full  of  vigorous  life  and  hope,  but 
possessed  of  highly  trained  faculties,  keen  senses,  and 
lofty  ideals.  It  was  his  strong,  personal  characteristics, 
apart  from  his  accomplishments,  which  at  once  placed 
him  head  and  shoulders  above  his  fellows.  "  He  had 
a  great  heart,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  and  a  marvellous 
personal  influence,  calling  forth,  not  only  the  sympathy 
and  love  of  his  fellowmen,  but  capable  of  kindling 
enthusiasm  in  others  almost  at  first  sight."  It  is 
impossible  to  overestimate  this  personal  influence  in 
analysing  the  elements  of  his  ultimate  success,  and  it 
is  more  impossible  for  those  who  did  not  feel  it  to 
realise  its  nature  ;  but  that  he  became  the  beloved 
as  well  as  the  trusted  physician  is  due  to  this  influence. 
"  He  had  no  acquaintances,"  says  the  writer  already 
quoted  ;  "  none  could  come  into  contact  with  him  and 
stop  short  of  friendship."     This  was  a  powerful  trait  to 

46 


FURTHER    STUDIES,   1830-1835 

possess  ;  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  was  fully  aware 
of  it  and  its  value  ;  and  used  it  with  good  eflPect  in 
establishing  himself  as  the  greatest  physician  of  his 
day. 

As  a  scientist  he  started  with  an  eager  desire  for 
knowledge  and  reverence  for  truth,  to  which  was 
added  the  highly  developed  power  of  mental  concentra- 
tion born  of  early  self-training.  When  most  men 
would  be  waiting  in  what  they  would  term  enforced 
idleness,  Simpson  would  be  busy  with  book  or  pen, 
deeply  attentive  to  his  occupation  despite  surrounding 
distractions  or  temptations  to  frivolous  idleness.  He 
took  the  full  measure  of  the  value  of  Time  and  handled 
his  moments  as  another  would  a  precious  metal.  "  At 
all  times,"  he  said  himself,  "on  all  occasions,  and 
amidst  the  numerous  disturbing  influences  to  which 
the  medical  man  is  so  constantly  subjected,  he  should 
be  able  to  control  and  command  his  undivided  mental 
attention  to  the  case  or  object  that  he  may  have 
before  him.  ...  In  the  power  of  concentrating  and 
keeping  concentrated  all  the  energies  of  attention  and 
thought  upon  any  given  subject,  consists  the  power 
of  thinking  strongly  and  successfully  upon  that  sub- 
ject. The  possession  or  the  want  of  this  quality  of 
the  mind  constitutes  the  main  distinction  between  the 
possession  or  the  want  of  what  the  world  designates 
'  mental  abilities  and  talents.'  " 

His  high  ideals,  his  conception  of  the  functions  of 
the    physician,  and  the  strivings  of   the  scientist  are 

47 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

best  shown  in  his  own  words: — "Other  pursuits 
become  insignificant  in  their  objects  when  placed  in 
contrast  with  ours.  The  agriculturist  bestows  all  his 
professional  care  and  study  on  the  rearing  of  crops  and 
cattle  ;  the  merchant  spends  his  energies  and  attention 
on  his  goods  and  his  commissions  ;  the  engineer  upon 
his  iron-wheels  and  rails  ;  the  sailor  upon  his  ships  and 
freights  ;  the  banker  upon  his  bills  and  his  bonds  ;  and 
the  manufacturer  upon  his  spindles  and  their  products. 
But  what  after  all  are  machinery  and  merchandise, 
shares  and  stocks,  consols  and  prices-current,  or  the 
rates  of  cargoes  and  cattle,  of  corns  and  cottons,  in 
comparison  with  the  inestimable  value  and  importance 
of  the  very  lives  of  these  fellowmen  who  everywhere 
move  and  breath  and  speak  and  act  around  us  ?  What 
are  any,  or-  what  are  all  these  objects  when  contrasted 
with  the  most  precious  and  valued  gift  of  God — 
human  life  ?  And  what  would  not  the  greatest  and 
most  successful  followers  of  such  varied  callings  give 
out  of  their  own  professional  stores  for  the  restoration 
of  health  and  for  the  prolongation  of  life — if  the  first 
were  once  lost  to  them,  or  if  the  other  were  merely 
menaced  by  the  dreaded  and  blighting  finger  of 
disease  ?  " 

In  one  of  his  addresses  of  later  years  he  urged  upon 
his  students  the  objects  and  motives  which  had  been 
his  in  early  professional  life  : — "  The  objects  and 
powers  of  your  art  are  alike  great  and  elevated,"  he 
said.     "  Your    aim    is    as  far    as   possible   to   alleviate 

48 


FURTHER    STUDIES,    1830-1835 

human  suffering  and  lengthen  out  human  existence. 
Your  ambition  is  to  gladden  as  v/ell  as  to  prolong  the 
course  of  human  life  by  warding  off  disease  as  the 
greatest  of  mortal  evils  ;  and  restoring  health,  and 
even  at  times  reason  itself,  as  the  greatest  of  mortal 
blessings.  ...  If  you  follow  these,  the  noble  objects 
of  your  profession,  in  a  proper  spirit  of  love  and  kind- 
ness to  your  race,  the  pure  light  of  benevolence  will 
shed  around  the  path  of  your  toils  and  labours  the 
brightness  and  beauty  that  will  ever  cheer  you  onwards 
and  keep  your  steps  from  being  weary  in  well- 
doing ;  .  .  .  while  if  you  practise  the  art  that  you 
profess  with  a  cold-hearted  view  to  its  results,  merely 
as  a  matter  of  lucre  and  trade,  your  course  will  be  as 
dark  and  miserable  as  that  low  and  grovelling  love 
that  dictates  it." 

Simpson's  method  of  study  was  simple,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  involved  immense  labour.  In 
entering  upon  a  new  work  his  first  proceeding  was  to 
ascertain  conscientiously  all  that  had  already  been  said 
or  written  by  others  upon  the  subject.  He  traced 
knowledge  from  its  earliest  sources  and  was  able,  as  he 
followed  the  mental  workings  of  those  who  had 
preceded  him,  to  estimate  the  value  of  every  vaunted 
addition  to  the  sum  of  knowledge  ;  and  to  weigh  the 
theories  and  new  opinions  of  men  which  had  been 
evolved  with  the  progress  of  time,  and  which  had 
sometimes  obscured,  instead  of  casting  greater  light 
upon  the  truth.      His  antiquarian  tastes  added  to  his 

49  "" 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

knowledge  of  Latin  helped  him  in  this  work  and 
turned  a  tedious  task  into  a  real  pleasure.  This 
prehminary  accomplished,  he  plunged  into  the  work 
of  adding  to  the  knowledge  of  the  subject  by  thought, 
research,  experiment,  or  invention. 

In  writing  upon  an  abstract  subject  he  would  dis- 
entangle the  confused  thoughts  of  his  predecessors  and 
restate  their  opinions  in  direct  and  sim.plified  language. 
But  matters  of  opinion  never  had  such  an  attraction 
for  him  as  matters  of  fact  ;  in  dealing  with  these  latter 
he  would  test  by  experiment  the  statements  of 
authorities  and  correct  or  add  to  them  by  his  own 
researches.  Most  of  his  professional  writings,  as  well 
as  his  archaeological  works,  are  valuable  for  the 
historical  resume  of  the  knowledge  on  the  subject 
as  well  as  for  his  additions.  His  later  writings  show 
as  careful  an  attention  to  the  inductive  method  with 
which  he  started,  as  those  produced  in  the  days  of  his 
more  youthful  enthusiasm  ;  when  fame  was  attained 
and  fortune  secured,  when  excessive  work  was  sapping 
his  physical  strength,  he  never  sank  into  lazy  or 
slovenly  methods  in  scientific  work,  but  ever  threw 
his  whole  vigour  into  the  self-imposed  task. 

When  studying  Nature  directly  he  was  constantly 
asking  her  "why?" — ^just  as  in  his  notes  of  his 
teacher's  lectures  the  query  was  ever  recurring.  He 
never  felt  .himself  beaten  by  an  initial  failure,  but 
returned  again  and  again  with  his  questions  with 
renewed  energy  each  time.     He  was  not  to  be  denied, 

50 


FURTHER   STUDIES,   1830-1835 

and  in  this  manner  he  wrested  from  Nature  some  of 
those  precious  secrets  the  knowledge  of  which  has 
relieved  suffering  and  prolonged  human  life  in  every 
corner  of  the  globe.  "  He  never  kept  anything 
secret,"  says  his  nephew  and  successor,  Professor 
A.  R.  Simpson,  "  that  he  thought  could  help  his 
fellows,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  his  delight  was 
greater  in  finding  some  new  means  to  cure  disease,  or 
in  demonstrating  to  others  his  methods  of  treatment." 
He  was  indeed  clothed  in  well-nigh  impenetrable 
armour,  and  pro\'ided  with  powerful  weapons,  when 
in  the  autumn  of  1835  he  returned  from  his  foreign 
tour  to  commence  the  serious  fight  in  which  his 
avowed  object  was  not  only  to  obtain  professional 
eminence,  but  to  stand  forth  a  proud  benefactor  of  the 
human  race.  Although  he  appealed  always  directly 
to  Nature  and  used  his  own  well-trained  eyes  and  ears 
in  preference  to  those  of  others,  he  did  not  completely 
brush  aside  authority  as  Sydenham  had  done ;  he 
hesitated  neither  to  extract  all  that  was  valuable,  nor 
to  discard  what  appeared  worthless  from  the  writings 
of  past  masters. 


51 


CHAPTER   IV 
Early    Practice    and    Professorship,   i 835-1 840 

President  of  Royal  Medical  Society — Personal  appearance — Practice 
among  the  poor — Corresponds  with  Miss  Grindlay — Lecturer  on 
obstetrics — Resignation  of  Professor  Hamilton — Applies  for  vacancy 
— Active  candidature — Strong  opposition — Marriage — Account  of 
the  midwifery  Chair — The  medical  professors  at  the  time — 
Their  opposition — Cost  of  candidature — Triumphant  election. 

IN  November,  1835,  Simpson  was  elected  one  of 
the  annual  Presidents  of  the  Royal  Medical 
Society  ;  a  position  which  has  been  occupied  by  many 
young  Edinburgh  graduates,  who  have  subsequently 
risen  to  fame.  He  took  pains  to  make  his  inaugural 
address  worthy  of  the  occasion,  and  chose  a  subject  con- 
nected with  the  pathology  of  obstetrics.  It  was  a  great 
success,  and  contributed  largely  towards  giving  him  a  1 

recognised  position  as  an  authority  in  that  branch  of 
study.  After  appearing  in  the  Edinburgh  Medical  and 
Surgical  Journal  ^or  January,  1836,  it  was  translated 
into  French,  Italian,  and  German.  It  also  obtained 
for  him  his  first  foreign  honour — one  of  a  long  list  that 

52 


EARLY   PRACTICE,    1835-1840 

was  made  up  through  his  lifetime — that  of  correspond- 
ing member  of  the  Ghent  Medical  Society  ;  indeed, 
his  early  works  received  more  attention  and  apprecia- 
tion abroad  than  at  home.  In  1836,  in  order  to  widen 
his  experience  in  his  chosen  subject,  he  filled  the  post 
of  house-surgeon  to  the  Lying-in  Hospital,  and  held 
it  for  twelve  months.  He  was  also  elected  a  Fellow  of 
the  Edinburgh  College  of  Physicians.  From  this  time 
he  became  a  profuse  writer  on  professional  subjects, 
and  developed  an  easy  and  convincing  style  ;  he 
carried  on  this  work  pari  passu  with  practice  amongst 
the  poorer  classes  of  the  city  and  in  addition  to  his 
work  in  connection  with  the  Pathology  Chair,  always 
keeping  in  view  his  great  object  of  becoming  an  ob- 
stetrician. It  was  not  until  1838  that  he  became  an 
independent  lecturer  on  Midwifery.  He  had  intended 
to  do  so  earlier,  but  owing  to  Professor  Thomson's 
ill-health,  he  had  been  called  upon  to  act  as  Deputy- 
Professor  of  Pathology,  a  most  valuable  and  useful 
employment. 

Simpson's  personal  appearance  at  this  time  has  been 
described  by  one  who  visited  a  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Medical  Society  on  an  evening  when  he  was  in  the 
chair  : — "  The  chair  was  occupied,"  says  the  narrator, 
"  by  a  young  man  whose  appearance  was  striking  and 
peculiar.  As  we  entered  the  room  his  head  was  bent 
down,  and  little  was  seen  but  a  mass  of  long  tangled 
hair,  partially  concealing  what  appeared  to  be  a  head 
of  very  large  size.     He  raised  his  head,  and  his  coun- 

53 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

tenance  at  once  impressed  us.  A  pale,  rather  flattish 
face,  massive  brent  brows,  from  under  which  shone 
eyes  now  piercing  as  it  were  to  your  inmost  soul,  now 
melting  into  almost  feminine  tenderness  ;  a  coarsish 
nose  with  dilated  nostrils,  finely  chiselled  mouth  which 
seemed  the  most  expressive  feature  of  the  face.  .  .  . 
Then  his  peculiar  rounded  soft  body  and  limbs,  as  if  he 
had  retained  the  infantine  form  in  adolescence,  pre- 
sented a  tout  ense?nhle^  which  even  if  we  had  never  seen  it 
again  would  have  remained  indelibly  impressed  on  our 
memory." 

In  Simpson's  youth  physicians  and  surgeons  made  a 
habit  of  cultivating  peculiarities  of  appearances  and 
behaviour,  but  he  v/as  so  shaped  by  nature  as  to  attract 
attention  without  artificial  aid.  The  growth  of  long 
hair  seemed  a,  natural  accompaniment  to  his  massive 
head  and  broad  expressive  countenance. 

His  practice  at  this  time  was  scattered  over  the  city, 
and  he  took  long  tramps  in  the  course  of  the  day.  In 
one  of  his  letters  to  his  brothers,  who  were  still  loyally 
supporting  him  in  his  increasingly  successful  en- 
deavours to  establish  himself  after  his  heart's  desire, 
he  says  : — "The  patients  are  mostly  poor  it  is  true, 
but  still  they  are  patients  ;  ...  if  my  health  is  spared 
me,  I  do  hope  I  may  get  into  practice  sufficient  to 
keep  me  respectable  after  the  lapse  of  years  ;  but  I 
know  years  must  pass  before  that.  At  present  I  enjoy 
the  best  possible  spirits  and  health,  and  with  all  my 
toils  was  never  happier  or  healthier." 

54 


EARLY    PRACTICE,    1835-1840 

Tout  vient  a  point  a  qui  sait  attendre.  Simpson 
kiiew  how  to  wait  ;  lie  knew  tliat  waiting  did  not 
mean  inactivity.  Every  opportunity  that  arose  for 
advancement  found  him  prepared  to  take  full  ad- 
vajitage  of  it. 

That  his  lectures  on  pathology  were  acceptable 
was  made  manifest  by  the  address  presented  to  him  by 
the  students  of  the  class  at  the  end  of  his  temporary 
term  of  office,  testifying  to  his  zeal,  fidelity,  and 
success,  their  admiration  of  his  high  talents,  of  the 
varied  and  extensive  research  which  he  displayed,  and 
of  his  uniform  and  kind  affability  which,  while  it 
exalted  him  in  the  eyes  of  all  as  a  teacher,  endeared 
him  to  each  as  a  friend. 

During  this  period  he  kept  up  a  correspondence 
with  the  Miss  Grindlay,  of  Liverpool,  whose  appear- 
ance he  had  been  struck  with  when  he  visited  the 
family,  and  towards  the  end  of  1837  he  found 
time  to  visit  there  again  accompanied  by  Dr.  John 
Reid. 

The  way  for  his  appearance  as  an  extra-academical 
lecturer  on  midwifery  was  made  clear  at  the  end  of 
1837  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Macintosh,  a  successful 
teacher  of  that  subject.  He  had  been  in  negotiation, 
without  success,  with  this  Dr.  Macintosh  for  the 
taking  over  of  the  part  or  whole  of  his  lectures,  and 
found  it  easy  to  step  at  once  into  his  place  at  his  death. 
He  was  firmly  determined  to  succeed  ultimately  to 
the  University  Chair  of  Midwifery.     On  one  occasion 

55 


SIR  JAMES    SIMPSON 

he  pointed  out  to  some  fiiejids  the  then  holder  of  the 
Chair,  Professor  Hamilton,  thus  : — "  Do  you  see  that 
old  gentleman  r     Well,  that's  my  gown  !  " 

The  good  luck  which  had  been  Lis  during  his  boy- 
hood did  not  desert  him  when  he  began  his  course  of 
lectures ;  for  not  only  did  he  speedily  attain  a  reputa- 
tion for  teaching,  science,  and  practical  skill,  wonderful 
for  ojie  so  young,  but  he  had  not  two  years  to  wait 
after  thus  establishing  himself  before  the  chair  of  his 
ambition  fell  vacant  owing  to  the  resignation  in  1839 
of  Professor  Hamilton,  who  died  soon  afterwards  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two. 

It  was  a  bold  step  for  so  young  a  man — for  Simpson 
was  only  twenty-eight — to  apply  for  the  professorship. 
He  was,  however,  not  without  his  precedent.  The 
second  Monro  obtained  the  Anatomy  Chair  at  twenty- 
five,  Alison  filled  that  of  Physic  at  thirty,  and  Thomas 
Hope  and  Alexander  Christison  were  Professors  of 
Chemistry  and  Medical  Jurisprudence  respectively 
each  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  But  this  subject  was 
one  which  was  popularly  thought  to  require  a  man  of 
experience  and  especially  a  married  man.  Simpson 
had  devoted  his  energies  but  partially  to  midwifery 
for  only  four  or  five  years,  and  except  for  his 
short  hospital  appointment  and  recent  experience  as 
a  lecturer  on  the  subject  had  in  the  eyes  of  many 
no  greater  claim  to  the  post  than  any  other  general 
practitioner,  except  in  the  fact  that  he  had  obtained 
a  wide  reputation  in  the  science  of  the  subject  by  his 

56 


EARLY   PRACTICE,    1835-1840 

contribution  to  its  literature  and  his  researches.  This 
last  was  the  point  on  which  he  himself  most  relied  ; 
for  his  age  he  had  done  more  scientifically  than  any  of 
his  opponents.  Those  who  had  watched  his  career 
knew  that  he  possessed  in  addition  to  zeal  and  ability, 
brilHant  teaching  and  practical  powers.  The  objection 
of  his  youth  was  less  easily  got  over  than  that  of  his 
unmarried  state.  With  characteristic  promptness,  as 
soon  as  he  had  determined  to  apply  for  the  Chair  and 
found  that  as  a  bachelor  his  chances  would  be  small, 
he  disappeared  for  a  time  from  Edinburgh,  and  re- 
turned triumphantly  with  Miss  Jessie  Grindlay,  of 
Liverpool,  as  his  wife.  It  was  a  bold  stroke  which 
delighted  his  supporters,  discomfited  his  opponents, 
who  saw  therein  the  removal  of  a  barrier  to  his 
success  and  a  weapon  from  their  hands,  and  astonished 
the  worthy  town  councillors  in  whose  gift  the 
appointment  lay. 

The  Edinburgh  Chair  of  Midv/ifery  was  established 
in  1726,  and  was  indisputably  the  first  Chair  of  its 
kind  in  the  British  Islands,  and  probably  in  the  world. 
It  was  in  that  year  that  the  Town  Council  first 
established  the  medical  faculty,  by  appointing  two 
Professors  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine 
and  two  of  Medicine  and  Chemistry.  A  Chair  of 
Anatomy  had  been  instituted  six  years  earlier  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  first  Monro  who  became 
its  first  occupant.  These  five  chairs  were  considered 
sufticient  wherewith  to  teach  all   the  medical  know- 

S7 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

ledge  of  the  day,  and  although  appointed  ad  v'ltam  aut 
culpam  the  professors  received  no  remuneration  out  of 
the  city  revenues.  The  Chair  was  not  reckoned  at 
first  as  a  faculty  Chair,  but  was  termed  a  city  pro- 
fessorship. The  newly  created  medical  faculty  would 
have  no  midwifery  within  the  precincts  of  the  Uni- 
versity ;  and  this  is  scarcely  surprising  when  we 
remember  that  at  iirst  the  only  persons  lectured  to  by 
the  city  professor  were  women  of  an  inferior  class  in 
whose  hands  the  practice  of  the  art  almost  entirely 
lay. 

Along  with  this  appointment  the  Town  Council 
established  a  system  of  regulation  for  midv/ifery 
practice  within  the  city.  It  ordered  that  all  midwives 
already  in  practice  should  at  once  be  registered,  and 
that  no  persons  should  thereafter  enter  on  the  practice 
within  the  city  until  they  had  presented  to  the 
magistrate  a  certificate  under  the  hands  of  at  least 
one  doctor  and  one  surgeon  who  were  at  the  same 
time  members  of  the  College  of  Physicians  or  of  the 
Incorporation  of  Chirurgeons,  bearing  that  they  had  so 
much  of  the  knowledge  and  principles  of  this  art  as 
warranted  their  entering  on  the  practice  of  it ;  where- 
upon a  licence  should  be  given  them  signed  by  four 
magistrates  at  least  entitling  them  to  practise.  It  was 
further  enacted  that  certain  pains  and  penalties  v/ere 
to  be  inflicted  upon  ignorant  persons  for  practising 
without  this  licence  whereby  their  "want  of  skill 
might  be  of  such  dangerous  consequences  to  the  lives 

5« 


EARLY   PRACTICE,    1835-1840 

of  so  many  people."  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  as 
qualified  medical  men  granted  them  these  certificates 
and  that  these  women  had  extensive  practices,  they 
possessed  also  a  fair  amount  of  skill.  But  slowly  and 
gradually  they  had  to  give  way  and  retire  to  the  rank 
of  nurses  before  the  rise  and  growing  public  tolerance 
of  the  qualified  male  practitioner  of  obstetrics. 

The  second  occupant  of  the  chair,  appointed  in 
1739,  was  elevated  to  a  place  in  the  medical  faculty, 
but  Professor  Thomas  Young,  who  occupied  it  in 
1756,  was  the  first  to  teach  the  subject  to  medical 
students  by  means  of  lectures  and  clinical  instruction. 
As  already  noted,  it  was  left  for  James  Hamilton 
to  obtain  the  recognition  of  midwifery  as  a  subject, 
a  knowledge  of  which  was  necessary  for  the  obtaining 
of  the  University  medical  degree. 

At  the  time  when  Simpson  was  straining  every 
nerve  to  gain  the  post  he  coveted,  the  medical  faculty 
of  the  University  comprised  the  following  professors  of 
the  following  subjects  : — Botany,  Robert  Graham, 
who  established  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Botanical 
Gardens  ;  Anatomy,  Monro  the  third  j  Chemistry, 
Hope,  who  discovered  strontium  in  the  lead  mines 
of  Argyleshire  5  Institutes  of  Medicine,  Alison,  an 
eminent  physician  and  philanthropist  who  first  pointed 
out  the  connection  between  destitution  and  epidemics 
of  disease,  and  secured  improved  Poor  Laws  for  his 
country  ;  Practice  of  Physic,  James  Home  ;  Materia 
Medica,  Christison,   the    world-reputed    toxicologist  ; 

59 


SIR  JAMES    SIMPSON 

Natural  History,  Robert  Jameson  ;  Clinical  Surgery, 
James  Syme,  the  wonderful  operator  and  teacher,  and 
inventor  of  the  "  macintosh  "  waterproof ;  Military 
Surgery,  Ballingali  ;  Medical  Jurisprudence,  Traill  ; 
Pathology,  Thomson  ;  and  Surgery,  Charles  Bell,  the 
discoverer  of  the  double  function  of  the  nerves,  who 
was  ranked  in  his  day  on  the  Continent  as  greater 
than  Harvey.  It  was  thus  not  an  undistinguished 
body  that  Simpson  strove  to  enter  ;  several  of  the  best- 
known  members  were  comparatively  young  men, 
recently  appointed  to  their  posts,  and  full  of  the  rising 
scientific  spirit.  It  is  little  to  their  credit  that  they  were 
practically  unanimous  in  opposing  the  candidature  of 
this  young  and  enthusiastic  scientist,  who  afterwards 
shed  such  lustre  on  the  University  from  the  chair 
which  they  would  have  denied  him  for  no  reasons 
other  than  his  youth  and  his  humble  origin. 

Fortunately  for  Simpson  and  for  the  University, 
the  appointment  did  not  lie  in  the  gift  of  the 
professors,  but  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Town   Council,  comprising  thirty-three   citizens. 

Such  an  election  was  always  a  matter  of  keen 
interest  to  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh,  and  each 
candidate  brought  all  the  direct  and  indirect  influence 
within  his  power  to  bear  on  every  councillor  whom  he 
could  reach.  The  Professors  in  the  various  faculties 
had  no  doubt  great  influence  ;  they  openly  canvassed 
for  the  candidate  they  favoured,  and  did  not  hesitate 
to  decry  those  they  did  not  approve   of.     Shortsighted 

60 


EARLY    PRACTICE,    1835-1840 

as  this  professorial  opposition  was,  it  proved  no  small 
difficulty  in  Simpson's  v/ay.  Foremost  amongst  his 
opponents  was  Syme,  who  commenced  a  long  feud 
with  him  by  supporting  his  chief  rival,  Dr.  Kennedy  ; 
"  I  feel  no  hesitation  in  stating,"  he  wrote  purposely 
for  publication,  "  that  of  all  the  candidates  in  the  field, 
he  (Kennedy)  is  out  of  all  question,  according  to  my 
judgment,  the  one  that  ought  to  be  elected."  Sir 
Charles  Bell  was  equally  emphatic,  and  characterised 
Simpson's  testimonials,  in  a  note  which  Kennedy 
circulated,  as  given  by  "  good-natured  people  merely 
to  do  a  civil  thing  to  a  friend  " — which  was  his  mode 
of  describing  the  declarations  of  some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  of  the  day. 

Each  candidate  also  brought  political  influence  to 
bear,  and  Whig  and  Tory  grew  agitated  as  the  contest 
became  keener.  Simpson  seems  to  have  thought  that 
both  political  parties  were  in  opposition  to  him,  but 
he  certainly  had  the  strong  support  of  Ritchie  of 
Scotsman  fame,  and  the  no  less  important  influence  of 
Mr.  Duncan  Maclaren. 

When  writing  to  ask  Mr.  Grindlay  for  his 
daughter's  hand,  Simpson  candidly  confessed  his 
pecuniary  position  at  the  time.  He  referred  to  a 
debt  of  ;r200  already  owing  to  his  brother  Sandy, 
and  added  : — "  Again  he  gave  me  a  bill  for  ;^I20 
to  assist  me  in  furnishing  my  house.  This  has  been 
renewed  and  becomes  due  in  January.  He  hopes  to 
be  able  to  pay  it,  and  I  fondly  imagined  I  would  have 

61 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

paid  the  half,  but  this  canvass  has  involved  me  in  new^ 
difficulties,  and  besides,  I  have  endeavoured  to  assist  my 
sister  to  go  out  to  Van  Diemen's  Land.  As  it  is  now 
I  am  self-sufficient  enough  to  think  that  I  am  as  well  off 
as  regards  station  in  my  profession  as  any  who  started 
here  in  the  race  of  life  with  me.  They  have  all,  I 
believe,  been  aided  by  friends  or  by  private  wealth. 
They  have  almost  all  been  fortunate  enough  to  have 
the  protection  of  a  father's  roof  during  the  iirst  years 
of  practice.  I  have  had  no  such  advantages,  but  have 
worked  and  stood  alone.  I  have  accumulated  for 
myself  a  library  and  museum,  worth  /200  at  least, 
amidst  these  difficulties.  These  I  have  won  by  my 
pen  and  my  lancet,  and  these  are  m.y  only  fortune. 
And  now  could  you  trust  her  future  happiness  to  me 
under  such  circumstances  ?  I  did  not  intend  to  ask 
her  hand  at  present.  I  fondly  hoped  I  might  have 
first  cleared  myself  of  my  debts." 

Grindlay  did  not  hesitate,  but  willingly  gave  his 
daughter,  as  she  was  willingly  given,  for  better  or 
worse. 

The  expenses  of  the  canvass  amounted  to  about 
^500,  an  amazingly  large  sum  ;  he  spared  no 
expense  in  printing  and  posting  his  testimonials  and 
letters  to  every  one  who  had  any  influence  with  the 
Council,  however  sm.all ;  but  taking  into  consideration 
the  cost  of  printing  and  postage  in  1839,  it  is  difficult 
to  realise  how  the  money  was  expended.  His  aim 
was  to  make  known  his  scientific  attainments,  powers 

62 


EARLY    PRACTICE,    1 835-1840 

as  a  teacher,  and  personal  qualifications  which  he  felt, 
if  duly  realised,  would  outweigh  the  disadvantages 
of  his  youth  and  comparative  inexperience.  His 
testimonials  spoke  in  strong  terms  of  his  abilities  and 
characteristics  ;  they  were  a  good  deal  more  numerous 
and  elaborate  than  is  customary  to-day,  but  Kennedy's 
also  made  a  fat  volume  of  150  octavo  pages. 

As  the  day  of  election  drew  near  the  excite- 
ment amongst  citizens,  professors,  and  students  grew 
intense.  Of  the  five  candidates  in  the  field,  three, 
including  his  former  teacher  Thatcher,  speedily  fell  out 
of  the  running.  Dr.  E^'ory  Kennedy,  of  Dublin,  and 
Simpson  stood  face  to  face  as  rivals.  Kennedy  was  no 
mean  opponent,  and  his  supporters  honestly  considered 
him  the  better  man  of  the  two ;  his  attainments 
certainly  merited  warm  support.  The  prophets  fore- 
told a  close  struggle,  and  the  event  proved  them 
correct.  So  keen  was  public  interest  that  w^hen  a 
report  was  circulated  that  Kennedy  was  a  bad  lecturer, 
his  friends  brought  him  over  from  Dublin  a  few  days 
before  the  election,  hired  a  public  room,  and  made 
him  lecture  to  a  crowded  and  enthusiastic  audience  to 
dispel  that  illusion.  In  spite  of  this  the  popular  vote 
was  decidedly  in  Simpson's  favour  ;  if  the  citizens  had 
had  votes  Simpson  would  have  been  returned  at  the 
head  of  the  poll  by  a  large  majority. 

On  Tuesday,  February  4,  1840,  at  a  Council 
meeting,  at  which  all  thirty-three  members  were 
present,    the     Provost    himself     proposed    Kennedy, 

63 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

while  Baillie  Ramsay  proposed  Simpson.  The 
result  was  awaited  with  breathless  suspense,  the 
chamber  being  crowded  by  anxious  spectators. 
Simpson's  enthusiasm  had  infected  his  supporters  ; 
he  had  kindled  the  first  sparks  of  that  enthusiastic 
affection  with  which  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh  ever 
after  regarded  him  ;  when  his  triumph,  by  the 
narrowest  majority,  was  announced,  the  cheers  re- 
sounded loud  and  long. 

The  same  evening  he  was  able  to  write  to 
Liverpool  : — 

"  I,  Dean  Terrace. 
"  I  was  this  day  elected  Professor.  My  opponent 
had  sixteen  and  I  had  seventeen  votes.  All  the 
political  influence  of  both  the  leading  Whigs  and 
Tories  here  was  employed  against  me  ;  but  never 
mind,  I  have  got  the  chair  in  despite  of  them,  Professors 
and  all.  Jessie's  honeymoon  and  mine  is  to  com- 
mence to-morrow\" 

It  was  the  man's  strong  individuality  which  carried 
the  day.  The  town  councillors  threw  aside  the 
political  and  academic  bias  of  those  who  endeavoured 
to  lead  them,  and  elected  the  man  who  had  boldly  said, 
"  Did  I  not  feel  I  am  the  best  man  for  the  Chair  I 
would  not  go  in  for  it "  ;  and  had  more  boldly  gone 
on  showing  them  how  thoroughly  he  felt  what  he 
said  until  they  themselves  came  to  believe  it. 

64 


EARLY    PRACTICE,    1835-1840 

The  gift  of  this  Chair,  as  of  many  others  in  the 
University,  has  now  passed  from  the  hands  of  the 
Town  Council  into  those  of  a  body  of  curators,  seven 
in  number,  three  nominated  by  the  University  Court 
and  four  by  the  Town  Council  ;  such  a  body  might 
have  made  a  more  cautious  choice,  but  never  a  more 
fortunate  one  both  for  the  city  and  the  University 
than  this  of  their  long-headed  and  far-sighted  pre- 
decessors. 


65 


CHAPTER   V 
Professor  and  Physician,     i  840-1 847 

Success  as  a  lecturer — Increased  practice — Generosity — Fashionable 
patients — Memoir  on  Leprosy — Controversy  concerning  the  Patho- 
logy Chair — Address  to  the  Graduates,  1842 — Squabbles — Pur- 
chases 52,  Queen  Street — A  great  and  good  physician — Called  to 
London — Visit  to  Erskine  House — The  daily  scene  at  52,  Queen 
Street — Rangoon  petroleum  and  Christison — The  disruption — His 
family — Appointed  Physician-Accoucheur  to  the  Queen  for  Scotland. 

SIMPSON  had  not  long  been  engaged  upon  his 
new  duties  before  the  town  councillors  gladly 
saw,  and  his  brother  professors  were  obliged  to  admit, 
that  the  baker's  son  was  bringing  a  mighty  genius 
to  bear  upon  the  subject  of  his  choice  from  the  chair 
of  his  ambition.  He  cherished  no  ill-feeling  against 
those  confreres  who  had  actively  opposed  his  candida- 
ture, but  set  to  work  amidst  his  new  surroundings 
conscious  that  the  best  way  to  obliterate  bitter  feelings 
was  by  gradually  creating  a  stronger  feeling — that  of 
respect  for  him  as  a  man  and  a  worker.  He  had  dealt 
heavy  blows  himself  during  the  conflict — blows  not 
easily  forgotten.       The   position   demanded  tact  and 

66 


PROFESSOR   AND   PHYSICIAN 

patience,  and  he  was  not  found  wanting  in  either. 
He  converted  many  who  had  worked  against  him 
into  adherents,  admirers,  and  even  friends. 

His  lectures  speedily  attracted  students.  Besides 
those  who  were  entering  the  profession,  grey-headed 
and  grey-bearded  men,  whose  student  days  had  long 
since  passed  away,  came  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  this 
remarkable  young  man  and  hear  the  so  recently  despised 
subject  dealt  with  in  his  own  masterly,  scientific 
manner.  Conciseness,  clearness,  and  directness  cha- 
racterised his  delivery  ;  while  with  illustration  and 
anecdote  he  made  his  dull  subject  fascinatingly  inte- 
resting. It  was  his  custom  to  write  out  on  a  black- 
board notes  of  the  subject  on  which  he  was  about  to 
speak — concise,  pithy  headings,  which  were  hung  up 
in  the  theatre  and  which  he  proceeded  methodically  to 
explain  and  enlarge  upon.  So  successful  were  his 
efforts  that  even  in  the  first  session  he  was  able  to 
make  the  proud  boast  that  his  class  was  for  the  first 
time  in  its  history  the  largest  in  the  University,  and 
this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  leading  pro- 
fessors altered  his  lecture  hour  to  the  same  hour  as 
Simpson's,  with  the  purpose  of  injuring  the  attendance 
at  Simpson's  class. 

A  direct  result  of  the  reputation  obtained  through 
his  course  of  lectures  and  improved  professional  posi- 
tion was  the  rapid  increase  of  his  practice  and  the 
improvement  of  the  class  of  his  patients,  so  that 
pecuniary   profit  came   within    his  reach.       He  con- 

67 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

tinued  to  be  a  general  practitioner,  however,  attending 
to  all  classes  of  cases  that  came  to  him  ;  but  his  zeal 
for  midwifery  and  the  diseases  of  women,  together 
with  his  renown  in  those  subjects,  brought  mostly 
patients  of  the  female  sex  to  his  consulting-room. 
With  the  improved  position  there  came  necessarily 
increased  expenditure,  which  at  first  exceeded  the 
income  ;  he  never  stopped  to  consider  the  patients' 
circumstances  or  whether  he  was  likely  to  be  paid  for 
his  services.  "  I  prefer  to  have  my  reward  in  the 
gratitude  of  my  patients,"  he  said.  He  treated  all 
that  came  to  him,  and  his  generous  nature  was  often- 
times taken  advantage  of  by  persons  very  well  able  to 
remunerate  him  ;  moreover,  at  this  time,  when  his 
pecuniary  profit  did  not  equal  his  professional  repu- 
tation, he  cheerfully  helped  many  who  appealed  to 
him  with  amounts  he  could  ill  spare. 

His  father-in-law  generously  and  willingly  stood  by 
him  until  the  fees  began  to  come  in  more  freely — his 
brother  Sandy,  who  had  supported  him  hitherto,  having 
now  other  claims  upon  his  purse.  He  found  two  ordi- 
nary but  costly  steps  advisable — first,  to  move  into  a 
better  and  more  centrally  situated  house ;  and,  secondly, 
to  obtain  a  carriage,  "  both  to  support  my  rank  among 
my  wealthier  compeers  and  to  save  my  body  from 
excess  of  work."  The  outlay  was  justified  in  the 
result  ;  the  fees  from  students  and  from  his  private 
practice  very  soon  enabled  him  to  repay  the  debts  to 
his    brothers   and    his    father-in-law    without    incon- 

68 


PROFESSOR   AND   PHYSICIAN 

venience  and  with  grateful  pleasure.  Once  and  for 
ever  within  the  first  few  years  of  his  professorship 
he  placed  himself  in  a  safe  position,  free  from  all 
pecuniary  anxiety. 

If  he  had  laboured  hard  to  fit  himself  for  the  front 
rank  of  his  profession,  his  work  on  attaining  that 
position  showed  increase  rather  than  abatement.  His 
private  practice  alone  was  the  work  of  more  than  one 
ordinary  individual,  and  his  professorial  duties  took  up 
some  of  the  best  hours  of  his  day.  In  the  evenings 
and  at  all  odd  times  he  busied  himself  with  absorbing 
current  or  ancient  literature,  or  in  preparing  his  own 
contributions  to  both  professional  and  general  know- 
ledge either  with  the  pen  or  by  experiment.  "Oh 
that  there  were  double  twenty-four  hours  in  the  day," 
he  sighed  at  a  time  when  he  was  working  at  highest 
pressure,  practising  amongst  peers,  commoners,  and 
cottagers  alike,  who  all  flocked  to  his  residence  or 
sent  long  distances  for  him.  When  Princess  Marie 
of  Baden,  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  came 
under  his  special  care  in  1843  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 
placed  at  the  top  of  his  profession  in  Scotland,  and 
must  have  smilingly  recalled  the  words  of  old  Dr. 
Dawson,  of  Bathgate,  when  he  heard  of  the  successful 
contest  for  the  Chair.  "  It's  all  very  well,"  he  had 
said,  "  to  have  got  the  Chair  !  But  he  can  never  have 
such  a  practice  as  Professor  Hamilton.  Why,  ladies 
have  been  known  to  come  from  England  to  consult 
him!" 

69 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

They  came  from  the  furthest  parts  of  Greater 
Britain  to  consult  Hamilton's  successor,  in  spite  of 
the  old  doctor's  prognostication  ! 

The  energy  as  well  as  the  versatility  of  the  man  is 
well  shown  in  the  works  which  he  found  time  to 
carry  on  while  he  was  thus  establishing  himself  as  a 
teacher  and  as  a  practitioner,  during  the  years  from  1840 
to  1845.  One  of  his  first  literary  efforts,  not  wholly 
professional,  the  Memoir  on  "Leprosy  and  Leper- 
Houses,"  was  produced  at  that  time.  It  was  a  work 
of  relaxation  and  pleasure,  for  it  carried  him  deeply 
into  his  favourite  archaeology.  The  fascination  which 
this  subject  always  had  for  him  sprang  from  his  love 
of  nature,  and  of  the  greatest  work  of  nature — 
man.  "The  leading  object  and  intent  of  all  the 
antiquarian's  pursuit  is  man,"  he  said,  "and  man's 
ways  and  works,  his  habits  and  thoughts,  from  the 
earliest  dates  at  which  we  can  find  his  traces  and 
tracks  upon  the  earth,  onwards  and  forwards  along  the 
journey  of  past  time.  During  this  long  journey  he 
has  everywhere  left  scattered  behind  him  and  around 
him  innumerable  relics  forming  so  many  permanent 
impressions  and  evidences  of  his  march  and  progress." 

The  quantity  and  quality  of  the  information  con- 
cerning leper  hospitals  which  he  collected  and  em- 
bodied in  his  memoir,  contributed  to  the  Edinburgh 
Medico-Chirurgical  Society  in  March,  1841,  was 
phenomenal.  He  had  consulted  old  manuscripts  and 
registers,  monastic  chronicles,  burgh  records,  and  Acts 

70 


PROFESSOR   AND    PHYSICIAN 

of  Parliament,  as  well  as  works  of  antiquity,  travel, 
and  history.  He  gave  close  upon  five  hundred  refer- 
ences, as  well  as  a  list  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen 
leper-houses,  whose  existence  in  Britain  and  whose 
history  he  had  traced.  The  work  illustrates  the 
objects  and  proper  methods  of  antiquarian  research, 
which  twenty  years  afterwards  he  dilated  upon  in  his 
address  from  the  Chair  of  the  Scottish  Society  of 
Antiquaries.  In  the  course  of  it  he  pointed  out  how 
vigorously  our  ancestors  had  set  to  work  to  stamp  out 
the  disease  when  it  spread  through  Europe  during  the 
period  from  the  tenth  to  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
m.ethod  adopted  was  that  still  employed — segregation  ; 
about  the  twelfth  century  scarcely  a  town  or  burgh  in 
France  and  Britain  was  without  its  leper-hospital. 
Although  we  in  Britain  are  happily  now  freed  from 
its  ravages,  other  parts  of  the  world  are  not  so  fortu- 
nate. It  is  still  regarded  popularly  as  an  incurable 
disease,  as  it  was  in  1597,  when  one  Catherine  Living- 
stone was  gravely  brought  to  trial  for  witchcraft,  one 
instance  of  which  had  been  that  she  dared  to  state  her 
ability  to  cure  "  leprosie,  which  the  maist  expert  men 
in  medicine  are  not  abil  to  do."  The  indictment  set 
forth  that  she  "took  a  reid  cock,  slew  it,  baked  a 
bannock  with  the  blude  of  it,  and  gaf  the  samyn  to 
the  leper  to  eat."  The  witch's  remedy  is  scarcely 
more  curious  and  certainly  no  less  useful  than  those 
recommended  two  centuries  later  by  John  Wesley  in 
his  "  Primitive   Physic,"  where,   moreover,  he  cheer- 

7^ 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

fully,  if  somewhat  too  briefly  to  satisfy  the  modern 
inquirer,  reports  the  cure  "  of  a  most  desperate  case  " 
by  the  drinking  of  a  half-pint  of  celery-whey  morning 
and  evening. 

Scotland  was  severely  smitten  by  leprosy  in  the 
centuries  when  it  overspread  Europe  ;  Robert  Bruce 
fell  a  victim  to  it  in  1 339,  and  the  disease  seems  to 
have  lingered  in  the  North  after  it  had  almost  vanished 
from  England. 

Simpson's  paper  was  published  in  the  Edinburgh 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal  in  three  parts  in  184 1 
and  1842,  and  to  this  day  is  the  most  valuable  contri- 
bution to  the  interesting  and  important  history  of  the 
disease.  Some  of  the  information  had  been  collected 
in  his  student  days.  In  his  antiquarian  researches  he 
had  frequently  met  with  references  to  the  dirty  and 
unwholesome  habits  and  surroundings  of  Scots  towns 
in  early  days.  The  thought  that  dirt  and  disease  were 
directly  connected — a  new  thought  even  so  recently  as 
fifty  years  ago — led  to  his  investigations.  He  found 
that  leprosy  was  most  prevalent  at  the  time  when  his 
country  was  most  dirty  ;  but  he  was  not  able  to 
establish  his  supposition  that  the  cause  of  the  disease 
lay  in  the  insanitary  surroundings  of  the  people  ; 
indeed  his  researches  proved  that,  on  the  contrary, 
leprosy  had  declined  and  practically  disappeared  from 
the  country  long  before  any  material  improvement  in 
sanitary  conditions  took  place. 

Simpson's  conduct  when  Professor  Thomson  resigned 
72 


PROFESSOR   AND    PHYSICIAN 

the  Chair  of  Pathology  illustrates  the  vigour  with 
which  he  entered  into  quite  casually  arising  incidents 
where  he  saw  that  strength  and  a  fight  were  necessary 
to  conquer  an  evil  or  prevent  an  abuse.  Thomson 
resigned  in  1841  owing  to  ill-health.  The  Chair  had 
been  established  by  WiUiam  IV.  in  1831  on  the  repre- 
sentations of  Thomson  himself,  who  succeeded  in 
satisfying  Lord  Melbourne  that  the  subject  was  worthy 
of  the  dignity  of  a  separate  Chair,  in  spite  of  the 
protests  of  the  Senatus  Academicus,  who  throughout 
the  history  of  the  medical  faculty  generally  appear  to 
have  been  actuated  more  by  personal  considerations  and 
professional  jealousies,  where  new  developments  were 
in  process,  than  by  zeal  for  their  Ahna  Mater.  Pro- 
fessors Syme  and  Alison  actively  led  an  agitation  that 
with  Thomson's  resignation  the  separate  teaching  of 
pathology  should  be  brought  to  an  end.  Without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  in  the  midst  of  his  hard  work, 
and  suffering  from  indifferent  health,  Simpson  plunged 
into  a  controversy  with  these  colleagues,  in  which  he 
silenced  at  once  and  for  ever  the  detractors  who  had 
sneered  at  him  as  an  ignorant,  uncultured  man- 
midwife.  The  controversy  as  usual  was  followed 
with  intense  interest  by  Edinburgh  folks,  and  Simpson 
received  a  first  taste  of  that  popular  approval  which 
undoubtedly  was  one  of  the  enjoyments  of  his  life. 
The  Crown  avoided  the  difficulty  of  deciding  between 
the  rival  petitioners  for  and  against  the  Chair  by 
transferring  its  patronage  to  the  Town  Council,  who 

73 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

showed  the  same  foresight  which  had  led  them  to 
appoint  Simpson,  in  deciding  to  maintain  its  existence. 
Unfortunately  their  wisdom  failed  when  they  elected 
as  Thomson's  successor  a  man  who,  although  of 
briUiant  attainments,  subsequently  brought  discredit 
upon  his  University  and  himself  by  becoming  a  convert 
to  homoeopathy.  Simpson,  who  was  indirectly  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  Chair  of  Pathology  for  this 
man  became  his  bitterest  opponent  when  he  declared 
himself  a  follower  of  Hahnemann's  unorthodox  and 
mistaken  doctrines. 

In  1842  it  fell  to  Simpson's  lot  to  deliver  the 
customary  address  to  the  medical  graduates  after  they 
had  received  their  degrees  at  the  annual  ceremonial  on 
on  the  1st  of  August.  He  treated  his  listeners  to  a 
discourse  on  the  duties  of  young  physicians.  When 
we  remember  that  he  had  attained  to  his  then  high 
professional  position  while  he  was  no  more  than  a 
young  physician  himself,  we  recognise  that  he  was  but 
setting  forth  the  ideals  and  principles  which  had  been 
and  still  were  his  guides  in  life  and  conduct. 

After  warning  his  audience  against  regarding  the 
gaining  of  the  coveted  degree  as  the  end  of  their 
student  career,  instead  of  as  in  reality  the  opening  up  of 
a  Hfetime  of  observation  and  study,  he  pointed  out  that 
self-patronage  was  the  best  of  all  patronage.  "  Place 
from  the  first,"  he  said,  "all  your  hopes  of  advance- 
ment upon  the  breadth  and  extent  of  your  medical 
abilities  alone.  .  .   Rather  walk  by  the  steady  light  of 

74 


PROFESSOR    AND    PHYSICIAN 

your  own  lamp  than  by  the  more  dazzling,  but  to  you 
more  uncertain,  lustre  borrowed  from  that  of  others.  .  . 
Young  physicians  often  dream  that  by  extending  the 
circle  of  their  private  acquaintances  they  thus  afford 
themselves  the  best  chance  of  extending  the  circle  of 
their  private  patients.  .  .  No  man  will  in  any  case 
of  doubt  and  danger  entrust  to  your  professional 
care  the  guardianship  of  his  own  life  or  of  the  life  of 
those  who  are  near  and  dear  to  his  heart,  merely 
because  you  happen  to  be  on  terms  of  intimacy  with 
him.  The  self-interest  of  human  nature  forbids  it.  .  . 
The  accomplishments  which  render  you  acceptable  in 
the  drawing-room  are  not  always  those  that  would 
make  your  visits  longed  for  or  valued  in  the  chamber 
of  sickness  and  sorrow.  .  .  Give  therefore  your  whole 
energies  to  medicine  ;  and  in  its  multiplied  departments 
you  will  find  ^  ample  room  and  verge  enough '  for  the 
most  energetic  as  well  as  the  most  comprehensive 
mind.  Place  your  faith  in  no  extrinsic  influences. 
Let  your  own  professional  character  be  the  one  great 
patron  to  whom  you  ever  look  for  your  professional 
advancement."  He  exhorted  the  young  practitioners 
above  all  to  save  and  economise  their  time,  and  to 
regard  it  as  a  property  to  be  avaricious  of  and  of  every 
item  of  which  they  were  to  render  a  proper  account  to 
themselves.  "  It  is  by  carefully  preserving,  confirming, 
and  making  diligent  use  of  these  broken  and  disjointed 
portions  of  it,  which  others  thoughtlessly  waste  and 
destroy,  that  almost  all  the  highest  reputations  in  the 

75 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

medical  profession  have  been  formed."  He  strongly 
urged  the  value  of  a  "  proper  covetousness  of  time." 
"  Look  around,  and  you  will  find  that  those  who  have 
the  most  to  do  in  the  way  of  business  as  practitioners 
have  also  apparently  the  most  time  to  spare  as  observers 
and  writers.  .  .  And  why  ?  Because  they  have  all 
their  daily  duties  perfectly  assorted  and  arrayed  ;  they 
save  from  loss  and  destruction  every  possible  fragment 
of  time  ;  and  this  very  industry  and  precision  procures 
them  more  true  leisure  than  indolence  can  boast  of." 

In  referring  to  the  relation  of  practitioner  to 
patient,  he  spoke  on  a  subject  which  has  been  much 
discussed  in  recent  years  without  altering  the 
principle  originally  laid  down  in  the  oath  of  Hippo- 
crates : — "Whatever,"  said  Simpson,  "is  communicated 
to  you  as  a'  matter  of  professional  confidence,  must 
ever  remain  buried  within  your  own  breasts  in  all  the 
silence  and  secrecy  of  the  grave."  He  concluded  his 
address  with  well-judged  remarks  on  the  relation  of 
the  physician  to  his  professional  brethren,  counselling 
his  hearers  to  observe  the  Golden  Rule,  and,  moreover, 
"  if  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peace- 
ably with  all  men  ;  never  allow  the  darker  part  of 
your  nature  to  persuade  you  to  the  attempt  of  over- 
taking him  who  has  distanced  you  in  the  race  of  life 
by  any  unjust  efforts  to  lame  the  character,  and  thus 
diminish  the  speed,  of  your  adversary.  And  if  such 
attempts  are  made  upon  you  by  others,  have  no  dread 
of  them — if  you  are  armed  strong  in  honesty,  if  you 

76 


PROFESSOR    AND   PHYSICIAN 

have  pursued  a  line  of  irreproachable  truth  and  un- 
bending rectitude  of  conduct.  '  Be  thou  as  pure  as 
snow  thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny.'  .  .  .  Your 
future  career  is  a  matter  of  your  own  selection,  and 
will  be  regulated  by  the  conduct  which  you  choose  to 
follow.  That  career  may  be  one  of  happiness  or  self- 
regret,  one  of  honour  or  of  obscurity,  one  of  wealth 
or  of  poverty.  The  one  or  other  result  is  not  a 
matter  of  chance^  but  a  matter  of  choice  on  your  part. 
Your  diligence  and  industry  for  the  next  few  years 
will  almost  inevitably  secure  for  you  the  one  ;  your 
apathy  and  indolence  will  almost  inevitably  entail 
upon  you  the  other.  May  God,  in  His  infinite 
goodness,  enable  you  to  select  the  wiser  and  the 
better  path." 

In  this  address,  as  in  that  previously  quoted,  we 
hear  him  exhorting  his  young  listeners  to  a  line  of 
conduct  which  we  know  to  have  been  broadly  his  own 
in  practice  as  well  as  in  ideal.  During  these  early 
years  as  professor,  Simpson  had  to  ward  off  many  ill- 
disposed  adversaries,  and  he  met  their  attack  with  the 
determination  and  powerful  preparedness  that  charac- 
terised his  attitude  in  later  years,  when  he  experienced 
the  hostility  so  constantly  opposed  to  genuine  re- 
formers, and  men  who  have  lived  ahead  of  their  tim.es. 
He  sometimes  regarded  these  encounters  regretfully 
himself ;  but  none  the  less  remembered  to 

"  Bear't  that  the  opposed  may  beware." 

The    correspondence    pertaining  to  some  of  these 
11 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

disputes  was  filed  and  ticketed,  with  brief  contempt, 
"  Squabbles."  His  controversy  with  Professor  Syme 
over  a  personal  matter  in  1845  was  not  to  the  credit 
of  either  of  these  great  men,  and,  as  Simpson  himself 
confessed,  was  equally  discreditable  to  their  profession. 
Simpson  had  seen,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  several 
of  his  teachers  fighting  long  and  strongly  for  their 
own  cherished  objects ;  and  he  doubtless  then,  in 
his  student  days,  learnt  the  lesson  that  vigorous  per- 
sistence had  the  power  to  gain  much  that  at  first 
seemed  hopeless  ;  he  fought  with  such  energy,  that  he 
accomplished  in  his  own  lifetime  what  the  example 
of  others  might  have  led  him  to  think  would  have 
been  accomplished  only  by  his  successors. 

The  growth  of  his  practice  up  to  1847  ^^^  little 
short  of  phenomenal.  In  1845  he  purchased  No.  52, 
Queen-street,  the  house  which  he  inhabited  up  to  his 
death,  and  which  became  the  Mecca  of  hundreds 
upon  hundreds  of  pilgrims  from  all  quarters  of  the 
globe.  Here,  in  those  years,  he  was  sought  and 
consulted  by  unceasing  crowds  ;  in  the  public  mind 
he  was  undoubtedly  endowed  with  more  than  human 
powers,  and  regarded  as  a  magician,  at  the  wave  of 
whose  wand  pain  and  disease  would  vanish.  This 
caused  him  much  embarrassment,  and  brought  upon 
him  the  abuse  of  ignorant  persons,  irritated  to  find 
that,  after  all,  even  in  Simpson's  person,  there  was  a 
limit  to  human  powers ;  or  of  others  with  unimportant 
ailments  who    were    disappointed   to  find   that,   once 

78 


PROFESSOR   AND   PHYSICIAN 

having  made  his  diagnosis  of  their  condition,  he  would 
have  no  more  of  them,  preferring  to  place  his  time  at 
the  disposal  of  those  whose  sufferings  were  real  and 
capable  of  relief,  or  whose  cases  were  complicated  and 
interesting.  The  question  of  remuneration  was  always 
secondary,  and  so  careless  was  he  in  pecuniary  matters 
that  it  is  related  that  he  would  wrap  up  interesting  speci- 
mens, professional  or  antiquarian,  in  bank  notes ;  and  his 
trusted  valet  was  in  the  habit  of  emptying  his  pockets 
at  night  of  the  money  earned  in  the  day,  to  prevent 
its  being  lost,  mislaid,  or  given  away  to  undeserving 
persons.  With  him  work  was  first  and  fee  second. 
Like  a  great  modern  teacher  he  was  able  to  say, 
"  Work  first — you  are  God's  servant ;  fee  first — you 
are  the  fiend's."  To  Simpson  "  work  was  master  and 
the  Lord  of  Work,  who  is  God." 

The  personal  power  and  attractiveness  of  the  man 
were  large  factors  in  gaining  the  practice  which  he 
now  enjoyed.  But  he  did  not  depend  for  success  on 
these  alone,  by  any  means.  His  professional  reputa- 
tion was  fully  won  by  great  work  in  obstetrics  and 
gynaecology,  and  by  the  introduction  of  methods  and 
instruments  which  contributed  to  the  saving  of  count- 
less lives.  It  has  been  said  that  he  gave  a  new  life  to 
the  obstetric  art,  and  presided  at  the  birth  of  gynaeco- 
logy. He  had  done  this  before  the  great  deed  was 
dreamt  of  which  hands  his  name  down  to  posterity, 
before  his  discovery  of  the  anaesthetic  power  of 
chloroform.      Simpson    was    a    great    physician,    the 

79 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

leading  practitioner  of  the  art  and  exponent  of  the 
science  with  which  his  name  will  always  be  con- 
nected. But  many  great  physicians  have  failed  to 
fulfil  as  Simpson  did,  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's 
description  of  the  physician  : — 

"  Generosity  he  has  such  as  is  possible  to  those  who 
practise  an  art,  never  to  those  who  drive  a  trade  ; 
discretion  tested  by  a  hundred  secrets  ;  tact  tried  in 
a  thousand  embarrassments  ;  and  what  are  more 
Heraclean  cheerfulness  and  courage.  So  it  is  that  he 
brings  air  and  cheer  into  the  sick  room,  and  often 
enough,  though  not  so  often  as  he  wishes,  brings 
healing." 

Great  as  a  man  and  great  as  a  physician,  Simpson 
was  actually  run  after  by  the  greatest  in  the  land.  In 
1845  he  was  summoned  professionally  to  London,  and 
gave  an  interesting  description  of  his  kindly  reception 
by  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland  and  her  family  in  a 
letter  written  from  Stafford  House.  His  advent  to 
London  was  a  matter  of  notoriety,  and  he  noted  that 
he  bought  in  the  street  a  life  of  himself  which 
mightily  diverted  him  and  made  him  laugh  until  he 
was  sore.  A  year  or  more  later  he  was  invited  for 
rest  and  change  to  Erskine  House  by  Lord  Blantyre, 
where  he  says,  "  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  the 
Marquis  and  Marchioness  of  Lome,  and  two  Ladies 
Gower  have  made  up  with  myself  all  the  strangers." 
"  Tell  Janet,"  he  wrote  to  his  brother,  "  I  think  now 
artificial    flowers   very    ungenteel.      The    ladies    here 

80 


PROFESSOR   AND   PHYSICIAN 

wear  nothing  but  real  flowers  in  their  hair,  and  every- 
day they  come  down  with  something  new  and  for  us 
males  to  guess  at.  Often  the  Duchess  wears  a  simple 
chaplet  of  ivy  leaves,  sometimes  a  bracken  leaf  is  all 
she  sports  in  her  head  ornaments,  and  beautiful  it 
looks.  Rowans  and  '  haws '  are  often  worn  beaded 
into  crov/ns  or  flowers  or  chaplets.  Heather  is  also 
a  favourite.  On  Thursday  Lady  Lome  came  down 
with  a  most  beautiful  chaplet  tying  round  and  keeping 
down  her  braided  hair.  It  was  a  long  bunch  of 
bramble  leaves  and  half-ripe  bramble  berries — actual 
true  brambles.  They  have  been  all  exceedingly  kind 
to  me,  and  I  really  feel  quite  at  home  among  them 
though  the  only  untitled  personage  at  table." 

The  daily  scene  at  52,  Queen  Street  was  now 
unique.  Those  who  had  the  fortune  to  lunch  or 
breakfast  in  that  hospitable  house  never  forgot  it. 
Statesmen,  noblemen,  artists,  scientists,  clergymen, 
and  politicians  from  various  countries  sat  down 
together  and  entertained  each  other  or  attempted  to 
do  so  in  their  different  languages.  The  host  guided 
the  conversation  while  he  still  glanced  over  the  news- 
paper or  some  newly  published  book,  and  never  failed 
by  skilful  leading  to  entice  out  of  every  one  the  best 
knowledge  that  they  possessed.  With  his  quick 
insight  he  rarely  failed  in  his  estimate  of  character, 
but  rapidly  perceived  even  in  a  stranger  where  the 
conventional  ceased  and  the  real  man  began. 

No  stranger  to  Edinburgh  omitted  to  bring  or 
81  G 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

obtain  an  introduction  to  the  genial  professor  ;  aU 
were  welcome,  and  an  open  table  was  kept.  The 
scene  has  been  described  from  intimate  knowledge 
in  the  columns  of  the  Scots  Observe?-  as  follows  : — 
"  Luncheon  is  set  on  the  table,  and  some  ten,  twenty, 
or  even  fifty  people  wait  the  appearance  of  their  host, 
who  is  on  his  rounds  maybe,  or  in  another  room 
ministers  to  an  urgent  case.  A  stranger  who  has  not 
learnt  that  the  great  Simpson  was  only  in  the  broadest 
sense  a  punctual  man — of  minutes,  hours,  he  knew 
nothing,  but  none  more  reliably  punctual,  few  so 
unsparingly  regular  in  working  while  'tis  called  to-day 
— might  be  prompted  by  hungry  discontent  to  suggest 
that  none  but  the  wealthiest  can  keep  the  doctor  from 
his  guests.  The  mere  suggestion  would  be  infamous, 
for  rich  and  ragged  alike  pay  fees  or  not  exactly  as  it 
pleases  them.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  host  still 
lingers,  and  the  impatient  stranger  has  time  to  wonder 
how  it  is  that  so  odd  an  assortment  of  human  beings 
should  be  met  together  in  one  room.  Lords  and 
Commons  rub  shoulders  at  his  table  ;  the  salt  of  the 
earth  sit  down  side  by  side  with  the  savourless  ;  tweed 
jostles  broadcloth  ;  the  town-bred  Briton  looks  ask- 
ance at  his  country-bred  compatriot,  and  both  uncon- 
sciously shudder  at  the  Briton  with  no  breeding  at  all. 
In  one  room  are  assembled  together  the  American  of 
bluest  blood  ;  the  Yankee  bagman  ;  the  slave-owning 
Southerner,  and  even  the  man  of  colour  hateful  to  both 
alike.     The  atmosphere  is  chili  hke  the  grave,  each 

82 


PROFESSOR   AND   PHYSICIAN 

guest,  eyeing  his  neighbour  suspiciously,  shrinks  into 
his  own  social  shell  ;  on  each  face  the  meanness  and 
snobbery  of  humankind  is,  if  not  aggressively  expressed, 
at  least  clearly  legible  ;  when  all  at  once  Simpson 
bustles  in.  In  a  few  minutes,  under  the  genial  influ- 
ence of  his  presence,  all  tongues  are  set  a-wagging, 
and  well  may  you  ask  whether  the  men  who  leave  his 
house  after  luncheon  are  those  who  half-an-hour  ago 
regarded  each  other  with  cold  disdain.  For  now 
they  are  cordial,  kindly,  sympathetic  ;  each  has  been 
induced  to  show  whatever  was'  attractive  in  his  nature, 
or  to  give  the  fruits  of  his  experience.  If  in  one  short 
hour  Simpson  could  thus  transform  a  crowd  of  frigid, 
haughty  strangers  into  an  assemblage  of  decent, 
amiable  human  beings,  what  could  he  not  achieve  in  a 
day,  a  year,  or  a  life  ?  " 

His  reception  of  members  of  his  own  profession  was 
specially  cordial,  and  if  those  from  any  one  country 
were  more  welcome  than  others,  it  was  the  many  who 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  see  and  hear  him.  America 
had  the  greatest  share  in  the  birth  of  anaesthetics,  and 
Simpson's  intimacy  with  so  many  of  the  profession  in 
the  United  States  made  it  easy  for  them  to  welcome 
his  assistance  in  that  great  event.  Gynaecology,  too, 
was  eagerly  taken  up  in  America,  and  many  were 
Simpson's  admirers  from  that  country  who  returned 
home  fired  by  his  influence  to  work  out  for  them- 
selves valuable  additions  to  that  science. 

Simpson  paid  close  attention   to  current    events  in 

83 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

other  branches  of  science,  in  politics,  and  in  religion. 
Sir  Robert  Christison  and  he  were  at  one  time  asso- 
ciated in  an  enterprise  which  narrowly  escaped  being 
the  source  of  a  fortune  to  him.  Rangoon  petroleum 
which  was  obtained  from  pits  dug  on  the  banks  of  the 
Irawaddy  had  been  chemically  investigated  by  Christi- 
son, and  he  had  isolated  from  it  a  substance  which  he 
named  petroline  ;  unfortunately,  unknown  to  him,  a 
German  chemist  had  independently  made  the  same 
discovery  a  few  months  earlier,  and  christened  the 
substance  paraffin.  When,  a  few  years  later,  it  oc- 
curred to  Simpson  that  the  crude  Rangoon  petroleum 
might  serve  as  a  lubricant  for  machinery  and  prove 
cheaper  than  those  in  general  use,  he  applied  to 
Christison.  He  met  with  willing  assistance,  but  a 
refusal  on  principle  to  have  anything  to  do  with  a 
patent,  which  Christison  laughingly  suggested,  might 
be  called  "  Simpson's  incomparable  antifriction  lubri- 
cant ! " 

"  When  I  called  for  Simpson,"  says  Christison,  in 
his  Recollections,  "  his  two  reception  rooms  were  as 
usual  full  of  patients,  more  were  seated  in  the  lobby, 
female  faces  stared  from  all  the  windows  in  vacant  ex- 
pectancy, and  a  lady  was  ringing  the  door  bell.  But 
the  doctor  brushed  through  the  crowd  to  join  me,  and 
left  them  all  kicking  their  heels  for  the  next  two 
hours." 

Their  experiments  proved  that  petroleum  was  vastly 
superior  to  sperm  oil,  the  best  known  and  most  com- 

84 


PROFESSOR   AND    PHYSICIAN 

monly  used  lubricant.  Simpson  proceeded  to  take  out 
a  patent,  having  no  such  scruples  as  Christison  ;  but 
to  his  chagrin  found  that  he  had  been  forestalled  by 
others,  and  had   to  abandon   the  subject. 

About  the  period  now  referred  to  Scotland  was 
stirred  from  end  to  end  by  the  ecclesiastical  movement 
which  culminated  in  the  crisis  known  as  the  Dis- 
ruption, when,  for  reasons  connected  with  the  juris- 
diction of  the  National  Church,  a  majority  of  its 
members  severed  their  connection  therewith  in  a 
public  and  dramatic  fashion,  and  "  came  out "  to 
found  the  now  strong  and  vigorous  Free  Kirk.  Simp- 
son at  first  steered  clear  of  all  the  squabbles  and 
discussions  which  the  movement  gave  rise  to,  but 
when  affairs  approached  a  crisis  he  threw  his  lot  in 
with  the  leaders  of  the  new  movement,  and  became  a 
staunch  Free  Churchman. 

Busy  as  he  was,  Simpson  fully  enjoyed  his  home  and 
all  the  inner  domestic  life.  He  was  a  cheery  and 
hearty  host  to  his  intimate  friends,  and  took  a  pleasure 
in  impromptu  entertainments  got  up  by  himself  in  his 
own  house,  when  he  found  time  at  his  disposal  for  such 
amusement.  His  first  child — a  daughter — of  whom 
he  was  mightily  proud,  was  born  in  1840  ;  his  first 
son,  David,  in  1842  ;  and  the  second,  Walter,  in  1843. 
In  1844  the  young  couple,  in  the  midst  of  their 
rising  prosperity,  suffered  the  loss  of  their  daughter, 
who  died  after  a  brief  illness.  Simpson  felt  the  loss 
keenly,  and  wrote  pathetically   on  the  subject  to  his 

85 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

relations  ;  long  afterwards  he  loved  to  talk  of  her  and 
her  winning  ways. 

By  1846  the  vast  majority  of  his  work  lay  in 
obstetrics  and  gynaecology,  although  he  himself  would 
no  doubt  have  indignantly  repelled  the  suggestion 
that  he  was  a  specialist  ;  his  mind  recognised  the 
interdependence  of  all  the  great  branches  of  the 
healing  art,  and  the  necessity  for  any  who  wished  to 
excel  or  be  useful  practitioners  to  be  au  courant  with 
each  and  every  branch.  He  had  early  shown  that  as 
a  pathologist  alone  he  was  worthy  of  a  niche  in  the 
temple  of  fame  ;  and  in  later  days  he  was  urged  to 
apply  for  the  vacant  chair  of  Physic  in  his  own  Uni- 
versity ;  while  Professor  A.  R.  Simpson  tells  us  that 
foreigners  working  in  the  sphere  of  surgery  sometimes 
spoke  of  him  as  a  surgeon. 

Early  in  1847  his  good  friend,  the  Duchess  or 
Sutherland,  wrote  to  inform  him  that  the  Queen  had 
much  pleasure  in  conferring  upon  him  the  vacant  post 
of  Physician  to  Her  Majesty.  In  the  Queen's  own 
words,  "  His  high  character  and  abilities  made  him 
very  fit  for  the  post."  He  held  this  post  until  his 
death,  under  the  title  of  Physician  Accoucheur  to  the 
Queen  for  Scotland. 

Thus  in  his  thirty-sixth  year,  to  the  pride  of  his 
family  and  of  the  whole  village  community  in  which 
he  had  been  born  and  received  his  early  training,  to 
the  admiration  of  patients  and  friends,  as  well  as  to 
his  own  conscious   satisfaction,   the   Bathgate  baker's 

86 


PROFESSOR   AND    PHYSICIAN 

son  had  risen  by  his  own  efforts  to  the  highest 
attainable  position  in  his  native  land.  But  the  work 
which  was  to  make  him  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
figures  in  the  history  of  medicine,  and  raise  him 
to  a  place  of  honour  in  the  grateful  estimation  of 
humanity,  was  scarcely  begun. 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Discovery  of  Anaesthetics,    i  844-1 847 

His  early  sympathy  for  suffering — Surgical  methods  before  the  discovery 
of  anaesthetics — His  mental  struggle  caused  by  the  sickening 
sights  of  the  operating  theatre — His  researches  into  the  history  of 
anaesthesia — Indian  hemp — Mandrake — Alcohol — Hypnotism  and 
other  methods — Inhalation  of  drugs — Sir  Humphry  Davy — Anaes- 
thetics discovered  in  Am.erica — Horace  Wells  and  laughing-gas — 
Morton  and  ether — Ether  in  Great  Britain — He  uses  it  in  midwifery 
practice — Search  for  a  better  anaesthetic — Discovery  of  anaesthetic 
power  of  chloroform. 

FROM  his  earliest  student  days  the  desire  had 
ever  been  present  in  Simpson's  mind  to  see 
some  means  devised  for  preventing  the  sufferings 
endured  by  patients  on  the  operating  table,  without, 
as  he  put  it,  "  interfering  with  the  free  and  healthy 
play  of  the  natural  functions."  It  is  difficult  for  us  at 
the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  understand, 
without  an  effort  of  the  imagination,  the  strong  in- 
centives which  he  had  for  such  a  wish.  Even  to-day, 
when  operations  are  conducted  without  the  infliction 
of  pain,  young  students  are  not  unfrequently  overcome 
by  the  sight  and  the  thought  of  what  is   in  front  of 

88 


THE  DISCOVERY   OF    ANAESTHETICS 

them.  At  the  commencement  of  a  winter  session  the 
theatre  is  crowded  with  those  students  who  are  enter- 
ing upon  surgical  study,  and  with  others,  not  so  far 
advanced,  who  have  come  to  get  a  preliminary  peep 
at  the  practice  of  this  fascinatingly  interesting  art. 
Many  of  these  at  first  succumb  and  faint  even  before 
the  surgeon  has  begun  his  work,  and  sometimes  are 
only  persuaded  to  pursue  their  studies  by  the  encour- 
agement of  kindly  teachers. 

Simpson  also  went  through  this  trying  experience, 
but  it  must  have  been  a  greater  struggle  to  him  to 
persist.  The  surroundings  of  the  surgeon  at  the 
commencement  of  the  century  were  vastly  more  re- 
pugnant to  a  youth  of  sensitive  nature  than  to-day. 
The  operating  theatre  then  has  been  compared  to  a 
butcher's  shambles ;  cleanliness  was  not  considered 
necessary,  and  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  feelings 
of  the  patient.  He  was  held  down  by  three  or 
four  pairs  of  powerful  arms  as  the  surgeon  boldly 
and  rapidly  did  his  work,  despite  the  screams, 
stopping,  perhaps,  only  to  roughly  abuse  the  patient 
for  some  agonised  movement  which  had  interfered 
with  the  course  of  action.  The  poor  wretch  saw 
the  instruments  handed  one  by  one  by  the  assistant, 
and  heard  the  surgeon's  calm  directions  and  his 
remarks  on  the  case.  The  barbarous  practice  of 
arresting  bleeding  by  the  application  of  red-hot  irons 
to  the  surface  of  the  wound  had  indeed  ceased  three 
centuries  before,  when  that  humane   reformer.  Pare, 

89 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

displaced  it  with  the  method  of  tying  the  open  blood- 
vessel, but  the  patient's  blood  gushed  forth  before  him 
until  arrested,  into  the  sawdust  spread  to  receive  it, 
and  the  sight  and  the  hot  odour  of  it  oftentimes  merci- 
fully caused  him  to  faint.  The  spirit  of  Pare  who, 
when  relating  a  successful  operation,  would  humbly 
add  at  the  end,  "  I  dressed  him  ;  God  healed  him," 
had  not  descended  to  those  who  practised  in  Simpson's 
day  the  art  for  which  Pare  did  so  much.  It  had  grown 
to  be  necessary  for  a  surgeon  to  be  rough  and  callous  ; 
it  was  expected  of  him  by  the  public  ;  he  was  a  man 
to  be  pointed  at  in  the  street,  and  shuddered  at  when 
he  passed,  by  all  v/ho  devoutly  prayed  they  might 
escape  his  clutches.  Much  of  this  conduct  was  mere 
mannerism  ;  it  had  become  the  custom,  and  had  to 
be  maintained  in  order  to  preserve  the  dignity  and 
stamp  the  identity  of  the  surgeon.  Much  of  it  arose 
from  the  haste  with  which  the  surgeon  had  to  work  ; 
the  quicker  the  operation  the  better  chance  had  the 
patient ;  it  v/as  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  bystander 
timing  the  surgeon's  work,  as  the  professional  time- 
keeper carefully  times  a  race ;  and  the  rapidity  of  each 
surgeon's  performances  was  a  subject  of  comparison 
and  admiration  amongst  the  students  of  his  day. 
Much  of  it  also  arose  from  the  effect  of  the  hideous 
scenes  in  the  operating  room  upon  the  surgeon 
himself;  his  nerve  had  to  become  of  iron  if  he  desired 
to  succeed,  and  with  the  nerve  the  face  and  the 
manner,  but  not  necessarily  always  the  heart  hardened 

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THE   DISCOVERY   OF   ANAESTHETICS 

also.  Tennyson  possibly  recollected  these  days,  when 
he  wrote  of  the  surgeon  who 

"  Sent  a  chill  to  my  heart  when  I  saw  him  come  in  at  the  door, 
Fresh  from  the  surgery  schools  of  France,  and  of  other  lands ; 
Harsh  red  hair,  big  voice,  big  chest,  big  merciless  hands." 

When  Simpson  first  saw  Liston  raise  his  knife  to 
operate  on  a  poor  Highland  woman,  he  actually  felt  so 
repelled  that  he  contemplated  abandoning  his  studies, 
and  made  a  serious  attempt  to  enter  upon  legal  work 
instead.  But  the  mental  struggle  with  which  medical 
men  of  all  countries,  and  in  all  times,  can  sympathise 
out  of  their  own  knowledge,  ended  in  a  victory  for 
medicine,  and  a  triumphant  return  to  his  studies  with 
the  question  permanently  engraved  on  the  tablets  of 
his  mind,  "  Can  nothing  be  done  to  prevent  this 
suffering  ? " 

It  is  necessary  and  it  is  certainly  beneficial  that  we 
should  thus  remind  ourselves  of  the  horrors  which 
surrounded  the  surgeon  so  recently  as  sixty  years  ago. 
"  Before  the  days  of  anaesthetics,"  wrote  an  old 
patient  to  Simpson,  in  a  letter  which  he  treasured  with 
pride — the  writer  was  himself  a  medical  man — "  a 
patient  preparing  for  an  operation  was  like  a  con- 
demned criminal  preparing  for  execution.  He  counted 
the  days  till  the  appointed  day  came.  He  counted 
the  hours  of  that  day  till  the  appointed  hour  came. 
He  Hstened  for  the  echo  in  the  street  of  the  surgeon's 
carriage.     He  watched  for  his  pull  at  the  door  bell  j 

91 


SIR  JAMES  SIMPSON 

for  his  foot  on  the  stair  ;  for  his  step  in  the  room  ;  for 
the  production  of  his  dreaded  instruments  ;  for  his  few 
grave  words,  and  his  last  preparations  before  beginning. 
And  then  he  surrendered  his  liberty  and,  revolting  at 
the  necessity,  submitted  to  be  held  or  bound,  and 
helplessly  gave  himself  up  to  the  cruel  knife.". 

It  was,  indeed,  a  monstrous  ogre  this  giant  Pain, 
holding  the  poor  weak  human  creature  in  its  merciless 
clutches,  which  Simpson  even  in  his  youthful  days 
bethought  himself  to  attack.  It  is  well  that  we 
who  are  the  heirs,  should  know  how  Simpson  and 
those  others  whose  names  are  ever  associated  with  his, 
slew  the  monster,  won  the  victory,  and  championed 
the  human  race  forward  into  a  land  where  further 
victories  undreamt  of  by  themselves  are  now  being 
daily  won. 

Simpson  searched  into  ancient  history  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  methods,  if  any,  by  which  in  remote  and 
mediaeval  times  surgeons  sought  to  prevent  the  pain  of 
operations.  The  most  time-honoured  method  seems 
to  have  been  by  the  internal  administration  of  drugs, 
the  chief  one  used  being  Indian  hemp,  which  was  well 
known  in  the  East,  and  under  one  of  its  names 
haschish  gave  origin  to  the  term  assassin  (strictly  eater 
of  haschish).  A  certain  Arab  Sheikh  got  together  a 
band  of  followers  to  whom  he  administered  haschish, 
which  produced  in  them  its  usual  effect — beautiful 
dreams  of  a  delightful  paradise.  He  induced  them  to 
believe  so  thoroughly  in  his  power  to  gain  for  them  at 

92 


THE    DISCOVERY   OF   ANESTHETICS 

death  permanent  entrance  to  this  paradise  that  they 
obeyed  all  his  ferocious  and  bloodthirsty  behests. 
Thus  these  assassins  became  known  as  men  obedient 
to  their  leader  in  any  murderous  enterprise.  Indian 
hemp  was,  and  still  is,  used  as  a  luxury  all  over  the 
East,  as  well  as  to  annul  pain,  and  was  used  by 
criminals  doomed  to  torture  or  execution.  Simpson 
thought  the  nepenthe  of  Homer  was  a  preparation  of 
this  drug  ;  he  also  refers  to  the  fact  that  Herodotus 
relates  that  the  Massagetas  inhaled  the  vapour  of 
burning  hemp  to  produce  intoxication  and  pleasurable 
excitement. 

Mandrake  was  used  in  a  similar  manner  and  for 
similar  purposes  as  Indian  hemp  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
but  it  fell  into  disuse  on  account  of  the  fatal  results 
that  often  followed.  It  is  frequently  referred  to  by 
Shakspeare  both  for  its  narcotic  properties  and  for  its 
fabulous  power  of  uttering  a  scream  when  torn  up  by 
the  roots,  to  hear  which  meant  death  or  madness. 
Simpson  cited  also  well-known  passages  from  Shaks- 
peare to  prove  that  the  practice  of  "  locking  up  the 
spirits  a  time  "  was  known  to  that  poet. 

In  later  days  the  intoxication  produced  by  alcohol 
was  taken  advantage  of,  and  instances  of  its  use  have 
been  known  in  quite  recent  years  in  the  Colonies, 
where  both  a  surgeon  and  chloroform  were  out  of 
reach. 

No  drug,  however,  was  known  to  be  of  such  value 
in  producing  anaesthesia  as  to  be  constantly  used,  and 

93 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

many  trials  were  made  of  other  means,  notably  that 
of  compressing  the  nerves  supplying  the  part  to  be 
operated  upon,  but  this  was  found  to  be  too  painful  in 
itself.  The  stupor  produced  by  compressing  the 
carotid  arteries — a  method  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
ruffians  known  as  garotters — was  also  put  in  practice 
for  a  time  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies, but  it  was  found  too  barbarous  a  method  even 
for  those  days. 

Hypnotism  was  known  to  the  Indians,  Egyptians, 
and  Persians  at  a  very  remote  period,  and  may  possibly 
have  been  used  by  them  sometimes  to  produce  anaes- 
thesia for  surgical  purposes.  Simpson  was  attracted  by 
the  words  of  the  poet  Middleton  in  his  tragedy 
"  Women,  beware  Women  "  (1617)  where  he  says — 

"  I'll  imitate  the  pities  of  old  surgeons 
To  this  lost  limb — who  ere  they  show  their  art 
Cast  me  asleep,  then  cut  the  diseased  part." 

When  hypnotism  made  one  of  its  periodic  re-ap- 
pearances in  1837,  this  time  under  the  name  of 
mesmerism,  after  that  extraordinary  exponent  of  its 
powers  Mesmer,  Simpson  recognised  in  it  a  possible 
method  for  "  casting  the  patient  asleep  "  before  opera- 
tion and  set  to  work  to  investigate  its  phenomena. 
A  Frenchman  named  Du  Potet,  disheartened  by  the 
prejudice  against  mesmerism  in  his  own  country, 
came  to  London  in  1837,  and  was  fortunate  enough 
to  receive  the  support  of  Dr.  John  Elliotson,  physician 

94 


THE    DISCOVERY   OF   ANESTHETICS 

to  University  College  Hospital.  EUiotson's  advocacy 
of  the  new  practice  was  received  with  ridicule  by 
the  profession,  and  was  treated  with  such  scathing 
contempt  by  the  Lancet  and  other  journals,  that  he 
was  completely  ruined. 

Simpson  was  very  successful  in  his  experiments  with 
mesmerism,  conducted  on  the  lines  suggested  by 
Elliotson,  but  he  recognised  that,  after  all,  it  was  not 
the  agent  for  which  he  was  seeking,  and  dropped  his 
researches. 

He  did  not  resume  them  even  when  Liston,  a  few 
years  later,  stimulated  by  the  advocacy  of  the  Man- 
chester surgeon  Braid,  v/ho  met  with  a  better  reception 
than  Elliotson,  and  by  the  relation  of  a  long  series  of 
successful  cases  by  a  surgeon  named  Esdaile,  in  Calcutta, 
actually  performed  operations  with  success  on  patients 
brought  under  its  influence. 

The  first  suggestion  to  produce  anaesthesia  by  the 
inhalation  of  drugs  was  made  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy 
in  1800.  He  discovered  by  experiment  upon  himself 
that  the  inhalation  of  nitrous  oxide  gas — commonly 
known  as  a  laughing  gas — had  the  power  of  relieving 
toothache  and  other  pains  ;  he  described  the  effect  as 
that  of  "  uneasiness  being  swallowed  up  for  a  few 
minutes  by  pleasures."  Although  he  stopped  short  at 
this  stage,  and  does  not  seem  to  have  used  the  inhala- 
tion to  produce  actual  loss  of  consciousness,  he,  never- 
theless, forecast  the  future  by  suggesting  that  nitrous 
oxide  might  be  used  as  an  inhalation  in  the  performance 

95 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

of  surgical  operations,  in  which  "  no  great  effusion  of 
blood  "  took  place. 

Some  thirty  years  later  Faraday  pointed  out  that 
ether  had  effects  upon  the  nervous  system  when  inhaled, 
similar  to  those  of  laughing-gas.  These  two  drugs 
came  to  be  inhaled  more  in  jest  than  in  earnest  ;  more 
as  an  amusing  scientific  experiment  for  the  sake  of 
the  pleasure-giving  excitement  they  set  up,  than  for 
the  purpose  Davy  had  suggested.  Ether,  it  is  true, 
was  recommended  even  before  Davy's  day  for  the 
relief  of  the  suffering  in  asthma,  but  until  the  fifth 
decade  of  the  century  no  one  had  attempted  to  prevent 
suffering  as  inflicted  by  the  surgeon  or  the  dentist,  by 
producing  the  state  of  unconsciousness  brought  about 
by  the  inhalation  of  such  drugs  as  ether — a  process 
now  known  to'  the  world  as  anaesthesia. 

The  persons  who  first  made  the  bold  experiments 
which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  how  to  produce 
anaesthesia  were  Americans  ;  and  two  men  were 
prominently  concerned  in  the  discovery.  Several 
others  made  isolated  and  successful  efforts  with  both 
ether  and  nitrous  oxide,  but  they  lacked  the  confidence 
and  the  courage  to  make  their  success  public  and  to 
persist  in  their  experiments.  Of  these,  Dr.  Long,  of 
Athens,  Georgia,  was  one  of  the  earliest ;  he  is  said  to 
have  successfully  removed  a  tumour  from  a  patient 
under  the  influence  of  ether  in  1842,  and  in  the 
Southern  States  he  is  regarded  as  the  discoverer  of 
anaesthesia.       Dr.    Jackson,    of    Boston — a    scientific 

96 


THE   DISCOVERY    OF   ANAESTHETICS 

chemist — laid  claim  to  the  honour  of  the  discovery 
after  others  had  fought  the  fight  and  established  the 
practice  of  anaesthesia.  Neither  of  these  men,  for 
the  reason  already  given,  deserves  the  honour  which  is 
now  universally  attributed  to  their  fellovz-countrymen, 
Wells  and  Morton. 

Horace  Wells  was  born  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in 
1 8 15,  and  was  educated  to  the  profession  of  dental 
surgeon.  He  gave  much  attention  to  the  desire 
present  in  the  minds  of  many  men  at  that  time  to 
render  dental  operations  painless.  On  December  10, 
1844,  he  witnessed  at  a  popular  lecture  the  experiment 
of  administering  laughing-gas,  and  noticed  that  a  Mr. 
Cooley,  while  still  under  the  influence  of  the  gas,  struck 
and  injured  his  limb  against  a  bench  without  suffering 
pain.  The  idea  at  once  occurred  to  Wells  that  here 
was  the  agent  he  was  in  search  of,  and  the  very  next 
day  he  experimented  upon  himself.  If  it  has  ever 
been  fortunate  to  have  toothache  it  was  so  for  Wells 
that  day  ;  he  was  troubled  by  an  aching  molar  which 
was  removed  by  a  colleague  named  Rigg,  whilst  he 
was  fully  under  the  influence  of  nitrous  oxide  ;  and 
thus  he  began  what  he  himself  at  once  called  on  recover- 
ing consciousness,  "  a  new  era  in  tooth-pulling."  He 
proceeded  promptly  to  test  the  experiment  upon  others 
and  with  complete  success ;  and  then  making  his 
success  known,  he  proceeded  with  his  former  pupil 
Morton  to  Boston,  and  gave  a  public  demonstration  of 
his  method  which   unfortunately  was  so  imperfectly 

97  " 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

carried  out  that  he  was  laughed  at  for  his  pains  and 
stigmatised  aji  impostor.  Wells  himself  stated  that 
the  failure  was  due  to  the  premature  withdrawal  of  the 
bag  containing  the  gas,  so  that  the  patient  was  but 
partially  under  its  influence  when  the  tooth  was 
extracted.  Wells  and  Morton  were  ignomijiiously 
hissed  by  the  crowd  of  practitioners  and  students 
gathered  to  see  the  operation.  Wells  never  recovered 
from  the  disappointment  and  the  illness  which  resulted, 
and  although  he  was  able  to  explain  his  discovery  to 
the  French  Academy  of  Science  in  1846,  he  unfortu- 
nately died  insane  in  New  York  two  years  later.  Un- 
doubtedly he  was  the  first  to  discover  the  practicability 
of  nitrous  oxide  anaesthesia,  and  to  proclaim  the  dis- 
covery with  a  discoverer's  zeal.  Although  his  career 
ended  so  sadly,  his  efforts  had,  nevertheless,  inspired  to 
greater  endeavour  liis  colleague  Morton,  who  had  not 
only  been  associated  in  his  experiments,  but  had 
been  deeply  interested  in  the  subject  for  many 
years. 

William  Thomas  Green  Morton  was  born  in  1 8 1 9  ; 
his  father  was  a  farmer  at  Charlton,  Massachusetts. 
He  qualified  as  a  dentist  at  Baltimore,  and  entered 
into  successful  practice  at  Boston.  Fired  with  the 
same  ambition  as  Wells,  he  made  attempts  to  extract 
teeth  painlessly  with  the  assistance  of  drugs  administered, 
or  sometimes  of  hypnotism.  In  December,  1844,  ^^^^^' 
Wells's  failure  with  nitrous  oxide  gas,  he  wisely 
abandoned  that  agent  and  investigated  another  which 

98 


THE    DISCOVERY   OF  ANESTHETICS 

promised  better  results.  He  experimented  first  with 
a  drug  known  as  chloric  ether^  but  failing  to  get  the 
desired  effect,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  afore- 
mentioned Dr.  Jackson,  he  proceeded  to  investigate 
the  effect  of  ordinary  ether.  The  first  experiments 
were  made  on  animals,  and  were  so  encouraging  that 
he  believed  he  had  at  last  found  the  desired  agent, 
provided  the  effect  on  human  beings  corresponded  with 
that  upon  dumb  creatures.  Boldly  and  heroically  he 
made  the  necessary  experiment  upon  himself,  and  on 
September  30,  1846,  inhaled  ether  from  a  handker- 
chief while  shut  up  in  his  room  and  seated  in  his  own 
operating-chair.  He  speedily  lost  consciousness,  and 
in  seven  or  eight  minutes  awoke  in  possession  of  the 
greatest  discovery  that  had  ever  been  revealed  to 
suffering  humanity.  We  can  picture  the  man 
gradually  awakening  in  his  chair  first  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  surroundings  and  then  to  the 
consciousness  of  his  great  achievement ;  sitting  with 
his  physical  frame  excited  by  the  influence  of  the  drug 
which  he  had  inhaled,  and  his  soul  stirred  to  its 
deepest  depth  by  the  expanding  thought  of  the  far- 
reaching  effects  of  what  he  had  done. 

"  Twilight  came  on,"  he  said,  in  subsequently 
relating  the  event.  "  The  hour  had  long  passed  when 
it  was  usual  for  patients  to  call.  I  had  just  resolved  to 
inhale  the  ether  again  and  have  a  tooth  extracted 
under  its  influence,  when  a  feeble  ring  was  heard  at 
the  door.     Making  a  motion  to  one  of  my  assistants 

99 


SIR  JAMES    SIMPSON 

who  started  to  answer  the  bell,  I  hastened  myself  to 
the  door,  where  I  found  a  man  with  his  face  bound  up, 
who  seemed  to  be  suffering  extremely.  '  Doctor,' 
said  he,  *  I  have  a  dreadful  tooth,  but  it  is  so  sore  I 
cannot  summon  courage  to  have  it  pulled  j  can't  you 
mesmerise  me  ? '  I  need  not  say  that  my  heart 
bounded  at  this  question,  and  that  I  found  it  difficult 
to  control  my  feelings,  but  putting  a  great  constraint 
upon  myself  I  expressed  my  sympathy,  and  invited  him 
to  walk  into  the  office.  I  examined  the  tooth,  and  in 
the  most  encouraging  manner  told  the  poor  sufferer 
that  I  had  something  better  than  mesmerism,  by 
means  of  which  I  could  take  out  his  tooth,  without 
giving  him  pain.  He  gladly  consented,  and  saturating 
my  handkerchief  with  ether  I  gave  it  to  him  to  inhale. 
He  became  unconscious  almost  immediately.  It  was 
dark.  Dr.  Haydon  held  the  lamp.  My  assistants 
were  trembling  with  excitement,  apprehending  the 
usual  prolonged  scream  from  the  patient,  while  I  ex- 
tracted the  firmly-rooted  bicuspid  tooth.  I  was  so  much 
agitated  that  I  came  near  throwins;  the  instrument 
out  of  the  window.  But  now  came  a  terrible  reaction. 
The  v/renching  of  the  tooth  had  failed  to  rouse  him  in  the 
slightest  degree  ;  he  remained  still  and  motionless  as  if 
already  in  the  embrace  of  death.  The  terrible  thought 
flashed  through  my  mind  that  he  might  be  dead — that 
in  my  zeal  to  test  my  new  theory,  I  might  have  gone 
too  far,  and  sacrificed  a  human  life.     I  trembled  under 

the  sense  of  my  responsibility  to  my  Maker,  and  to  my 
100 


THE   DISCOVERY  OF   ANESTHETICS 

fellow-men.  I  seized  a  glass  of  water  and  dashed  it  in 
the  man's  face.  The  result  proved  most  happy.  He 
recovered  in  a  minute,  and  knew  nothing  of  what  had 
occurred.  Seeing  us  all  stand  around  he  appeared  be- 
wildered. I  instantly,  in  as  calm  a  tone  as  I  could 
command,  asked,  "  Are  you  ready  to  have  your  tooth 
extracted  ? "  "  Yes,"  he  ansvv^ered,  in  a  hesitating 
voice.  "  It  is  all  over,"  I  said,  pointing  to  a  decayed 
tooth  on  the  floor.  "  No,"  he  shouted,  leaping  from 
his  chair.  The  name  of  the  man  who  thus  for  the 
first  time  underwent  an  operation  under  anaesthesia 
induced  by  ether  was  Eben  Frost." 

The  nature  of  the  agent  used  by  Morton  was  kept 
secret  only  a  short  period  ;  the  steps  he  took  to  bring 
his  discovery  before  the  medical  profession  would  have 
rendered  it  difficult  if  not  impossible,  even  if  ether  had 
not  a  penetrating  tell-tale  odour.  Morton  laid  his 
method  before  one  of  the  surgical  staff  of  the  Massa- 
chussetts  General  Hospital,  Boston,  the  same  institution 
where  Wells's  ill-managed  demonstration  had  taken 
place  two  years  before  ;  he  requested,  with  complete 
confidence,  to  be  allowed  to  exhibit  the  powers  of  his 
agent.  The  surgeon  v/as  sceptical,  but  wisely  con- 
sented, after  having  satisfied  himself  that  there  was  no 
risk  to  life.  A  patient  suffering  from  a  tumour  was 
chosen,  and  readily  consented  to  act  as  a  subject  for 
demonstration.  A  large  crowd  of  professional  men  and 
students  assembled  in  the  surgical  theatre  on  the  morn- 
ing of  October  i6,  1846,  the  day  chosen  for  the  trial. 

lOI 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

The  senior  hospital  surgeon,  Dr.  J.  Collins  Warren, 
was  to  perform  the  operation.  The  spectators,  many 
of  whom  no  doubt  recollected  the  failure  with  laughing- 
gas,  were  disposed  to  deride  when  the  appointed  hour 
passed  and  Morton  did  not  appear  j  but  the  delay  was 
due  only  to  the  desire  of  the  dentist  to  bring  a  proper 
inhaler,  and  although  the  crowd  received  him  with  a 
chilHng  reserve,  and  the  occasion  was  one  fit  to  try  the 
nerve  of  the  strongest,  Morton  did  not  lose  his  pre- 
sence of  mind.  He  promptly  anaesthetised  the  patient, 
and  as  unconcernedly  as  does  the  modern  administrator, 
nodded  to  the  surgeon  that  the  patient  was  ready. 
From  the  first  moment  that  the  knife  touched  the 
patient,  until  the  operation  was  concluded,  no  sound, 
no  movement  indicated  that  he  was  suffering.  The 
men  who  had  scoffed  once  and  had  come,  even  the 
surgeon  himself,  prepared  to  scoff  again,  realised  the 
success  and  the  wonder  of  it,  and  remained  to  admire. 
"  Gentlemen,  this  is  no  humbug,"  exclaimed  Dr. 
Warren,  as  he  finished  his  handiwork.  When  the 
patient  recovered  he  was  questioned  again  and  again, 
but  stoutly  maintained  that  he  had  felt  no  pain — abso- 
lutely none.  "  Gilbert  Abbott,  aged  twenty,  painter, 
single,"  was  the  description  of  the  man  on  whom  was 
performed  the  first  surgical  operation  under  the 
influence    of  ether. 

News  of  the  great  success  rapidly  spread,  and  the 
experiment   was    repeated   by  Morton  and  others    in 
America,  and  similar  work  was  taken  up  throughout 
102 


THE  DISCOVERY   OF   ANESTHETICS 

Europe.  It  cannot  be  said  that  Morton  derived  much 
benefit  from  his  discovery.  Although  the  greatness  of 
it  was  recognised  in  his  Hfetime,  and  he  received 
several  honours  and  presents,  he  entered  into  pro- 
longed squabbles  concerning  the  discovery  w^hich 
v^^orried  him  into  a  state  of  ill-health,  ending  in  his 
death  in  1868.  A  monument  was  erected  over  his 
grave  by  the  citizens  of  Boston,  bearing  the  following 
concise  description  of  his  achievement  : — 

«  WILLIAM  T.  G.  MORTON, 

"  Inventor  and  revealer  of  anaesthetic  inhalation, 
By  whom  pain  in  surgery  was  averted  and  annulled  ; 
Before  whom  in  all  time  surgery  was  agony, 
Since  whom  Science  has  control  of  Pain." 

Whilst  the  discoverer  of  nitrous-oxide  anaesthesia 
was  dying  from  chagrin  and  inaction,  and  the  revealer 
of  anaesthetic  inhalation  by  ether  was  wasting  time 
in  unworthy  disputes  concerning  priority,  and  fruitless 
endeavours  to  gain  pecuniary  reward,  a  bolder  than 
either  had  taken  up  the  work  where  they  had  left  it, 
with  the  high  object  of  pursuing  it  until  he  had  for 
ever  established  the  benefit  to  humanity  which  he 
recognised  in  it.  He  went  straight  forwards  and 
onwards,  strong  in  his  endeavour  ;  undeterred  by  the 
jeers  of  the  ignorant,  the  opposition  of  the  prejudiced 
or  the  attacks  of  the  jealous,  with  no  thought  of  or 
wish  for  reward  except  that  which  was  to  come  daily 
from  the  depth  of  sufferers'  hearts. 

During  the  Christmas  holidays  of  1846  Simpson  v/as 
103 


SIR   JAMES    SIMPSON 

in  London,  and  discussed  the  new  discovery  with 
Liston,  who  was  one  of  the  first  to  operate  under  ether 
in  Great  Britain  at  University  College  Hospital.  The 
great  surgeon  thought  that  the  chief  application  of  the 
process  would  be  in  the  practice  of  rapidly  operating 
surgeons  j  it  was  at  first  generally  believed  that  the 
inhalation  could  be  borne  for  only  a  brief  period, 
Simpson  speedily  showed  that  no  evil  resulted  if  the 
patient  remained  under  the  influence  of  the  vapour  for 
hours.  In  the  month  of  January,  1847,  ^^^  gained  for 
the  Edinburgh  Medical  School  the  proud  honour  of 
being  the  scene  of  the  first  use  of  anaesthetics  in 
obstetric  practice.  In  March  of  the  same  year  he 
published  a  record  of  cases  of  parturition  in  which  he 
had  used  ether  with  success  ;  and  had  a  large  number 
of  copies  of  his  paper  printed  and  distributed  far  and 
wide  at  home  and  abroad,  so  eager  was  he  to  popularise 
amongst  the  members  of  his  profession  the  revolu- 
tionary practice  which  he  introduced.  From  the  day 
on  which  he  first  used  ether  in  midwifery  until  the  end 
of  his  career  he  constantly  used  anaesthetics  in  his 
practice.  He  quickly  perceived,  however,  the  short- 
comings of  ether,  and  having  satisfied  himself  that 
they  were  unavoidable,  he  set  about  his  next  great  step, 
namely,  to  discover  some  substance  possessing  the  ad- 
vantages without  the  disadvantages  of  ether.  In  the 
midst  of  his  now  immense  daily  work  he  gave  all  his 
spare  time,  often  only  the  midnight  hours,  to  testing 
upon  himself  the  effect  of  numerous  drugs.     With  the 

104 


THE  DISCOVERY   OF   ANAESTHETICS 

same  courage  that  had  filled  Morton  he  sat  down 
alone,  or  with  Dr.  George  Keith  and  Dr.  Matthews 
Duncan,  his  assistants,  to  inhale  substance  after  sub- 
stance, often  to  the  real  alarm  of  the  household  at  52, 
Queen  Street.  Appeal  was  made  to  scientific  chemists 
to  provide  drugs  hitherto  known  only  as  curiosities  of 
the  laboratory,  and  for  others  that  their  special  know-- 
ledge  might  be  able  to  suggest.  The  experiments 
usually  took  place  in  the  dining-room  in  the  quiet  of 
the  evening  or  the  dead  of  night.  The  enthusiasts  sat 
at  the  table  and  inhaled  the  particular  substance  under 
trial  from  tumblers  or  saucers  ;  but  the  summer  of 
1847  Passed  away,  and  the  autumn  was  commenced 
before  he  succeeded  in  finding  any  substance  which  at 
all  fulfilled  his  requirements.  All  this  time  he  was 
battling  for  anaesthesia,  which,  particularly  in  its  ap- 
plication to  midwifery,  was  meeting  with  what  appears 
now  as  an  astonishing  amount  of  opposition,  on  varying 
grounds  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  persons  ;  but 
the  vigour  and  power  of  his  advocacy  and  defence  of 
the  practice  in  the  days  when  laughing-gas  and  ether 
were  the  only  known  agents,  were  as  nothing  to  that 
which  he  exerted  after  his  own  discovery  at  the  end  of 

1847. 

The  suggestion  to  try  chloroform  first  came  from  a 
Mr.  Waldie,  a  native  of  Linlithgowshire,  settled  in 
Liverpool  as  a  chemist.  It  was  a  "  curious  liquid," 
discovered  and  described  in  1831  by  two  chemists, 
Soubeiran    and    Liebig,   simultaneously    but   indepen- 

105 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

dently.  In  1835  its  chemical  composition  was  first 
accurately  ascertained  by  Dumas,  the  famous  French 
chemist.  Simpson  was  apparently  not  aware  that  early 
in  1847  ariother  French  chemist,  Flourens,  had  drawn 
attention  to  the  effect  of  chloroform  upon  animals,  or 
he  would  probably  have  hastened  to  use  it  upon  him- 
self experimentally,  instead  of  putting  away  the  first 
specimen  obtained  as  unlikely  ;  it  was  heavy  and  not 
volatile  looking,  and  less  attractive  to  him  than  other 
substances.  How  it  finally  came  to  be  tried  is  best 
described  in  the  words  of  Simpson's  colleague  and 
neighbour,  Professor  Miller,  who  used  to  look  in  every 
morning  at  nine  o'clock  to  see  how  the  enthusiasts 
had  fared  in  the  experiments  of  the  previous  evening. 

"  Late  one  evening,  it  was  the  4th  of  November, 
1847,  ^^^  returning  home  after  a  weary  day's  labour. 
Dr.  Simpson  with  his  two  friends  and  assistants,  Drs. 
Keith  and  Duncan,  sat  down  to  their  somewhat 
hazardous  work  in  Dr.  Simpson's  dining-room. 
Having  inhaled  several  substances,  but  without  much 
effect,  it  occurred  to  Dr.  Simpson  to  try  a  pon- 
derous material  which  he  had  formerly  set  aside 
on  a  lumber-table,  and  which  on  account  of  its 
great  weight  he  had  hitherto  regarded  as  of  no 
likelihood  whatever  ;  that  happened  to  be  a  small 
bottle  of  chloroform.  It  was  searched  for  and  re- 
covered from  beneath  a  heap  of  waste  paper.  And 
with  each  tumbler  newly  charged,  the  inhalers  resumed 
their  vocation.      Immediately    an  unwonted    hilarity 

106 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   ANAESTHETICS 

seized    the    party — they     became     brighteyed,    very 
happy,    and    very     loquacious — expatiating    on      the 
delicious  aroma  of  the  new  fluid.     The  conversation 
W2iS  of  unusual   intelligence,  and  quite    charmed    the 
listeners — some    ladies    of    the    family    and    a    naval 
officer,  brother-in-law  of  Dr.  Simpson.     But  suddenly 
there  was  a  talk  of  sounds  being  heard  like   those  of  a 
cotton  mill  louder  and  louder  ;    a  moment  more  and 
then  all  was  quiet — and  then  crash  !      On  awakening 
Dr.  Simpson's  first  perception  was  mental — "  This   is 
far  stronger  and  better  than  ether,"  said  he  to  himself. 
His  second  was  to  note  that  he  was  prostrate  on  the 
floor,  and  that  among  the  friends  about  him  there  was 
both  confusion  and  alarm.     Hearing  a  noise  he  turned 
round  and  saw  Dr.  Duncan  beneath  a  chair — his  jaw 
dropped,  his  eyes  staring,  his  head  bent  half  under  him  ; 
quite  unconscious,  and  snoring  in  a  most  determined 
and  alarming  manner.      More  noise   still  and   much 
motion.    And  then  his  eyes  overtook  Dr.  Keith's  feet 
and   legs  making  valorous  attempts    to    overturn   the 
supper  table,  or  more  probably  to  annihilate  everything 
that    was    on    it.     By    and    by  Dr.    Simpson    having 
regained  his  seat.  Dr.  Duncan  having  finished  his  un- 
comfortable and  unrefreshing  slumber,  and  Dr.  Keith 
having  come  to  an  arrangement  with  the  table  and  its 
contents,  the  sederunt  was  resumed.      Each  expressed 
himself  delighted  with  this  new  agent,  and  its  inhala- 
tion was  repeated  many  times  that  night — one  of  the 
ladies  gallantly   taking    her    place   and    turn    at    the 

107 


SIR  JAMES    SIMPSON 

table — until  the  supply  of  chloroform  was  fairly 
exhausted." 

The  lady  was  Miss  Petrie,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Simpson's  ; 
she  folded  her  arms  across  her  breast  as  she  inhaled  the 
vapour,  and  fell  asleep  crying,  "  I'm  an  angel  !  Oh, 
I'm  an  angel "  !  The  party  sat  discussing  their 
sensations,  and  the  merits  of  the  substance  long 
after  it  was  finished  ;  they  were  unanimous  in 
considering  that  at  last  something  had  been  found 
to  surpass    ether. 

The  following  morning  a  manufacturing  chemist 
was  pressed  into  service,  and  had  to  burn  the  midnight 
oil  to  meet  Simpson's  demand  for  the  new  substance. 
So  great  was  Simpson's  midwifery  practice  that  he  was 
able  to  make  immediate  trial  of  chloroform,  and  on 
November  loth'  he  read  a  paper  to  the  Medico- 
Chirurgical  Society,  describing  the  nature  of  his 
agent,  and  narrating  cases  in  which  he  had  already 
successfully  used  it.  "  I  have  never  had  the  pleasure," 
he  said,  "  of  watching  over  a  series  of  better  and  more 
rapid  recoveries  ;  nor  once  v/itnessed  any  disagreeable 
results  follow  to  either  mother  or  child  ;  whilst  I  have 
now  seen  an  immense  amount  of  maternal  pain  and 
agony  saved  by  its  employment.  And  I  most  con- 
scientiously believe  that  the  proud  mission  of  the 
physician  is  distinctly  twofold — namely  to  alleviate 
human  suffering  as  well  as  preserve  human  life." 
In  a  postscript  to  the  same  paper  he  states  on 
November  15th  that  he  had  already  administered 
108 


THE   DISCOVERY    OF    ANiESTHETICS 

chloroform  to  about  fifty  individuals  without  the 
slightest  bad  result,  and  gives  an  account  of  the 
first  surgical  cases  in  v^hich  he  gave  the  agent  to 
patients  of  his  friends,  Professor  Miller  and  Dr. 
Duncan,  in  the  Edinburgh  Royal  Infirmary.  "  A 
great  collection,"  he  says,  "  of  professional  gentle- 
men and  students  witnessed  the  results,  and  amongst 
them  Professor  Dumas,  of  Paris,  the  chemist  who 
first  ascertained  and  established  the  chemical  compo- 
sition of  chloroform.  He  happened  to  be  passing 
through  Edinburgh,  and  was  in  no  small  degree 
rejoiced  to  witness  the  v/onderful  physiological 
effects  of  a  substance  with  whose  chemical  history 
his  own  name  was  so  intimately  connected."  Four 
thousand  copies  of  this  paper  were  sold  in  a  few 
days,  and  m.any  thousands  afterwards. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that,  according  to  a  promise, 
Professor  Miller  had  sent  for  Simpson  a  few  days  after 
the  discovery  to  give  chloroform  to  a  patient  on  whom 
he  was  about  to  perform  a  major  operation  ;  Simpson, 
however,  was  unavoidably  prevented  from  attending, 
and  Miller  began  the  operation  without  him — at  the 
first  cut  of  the  knife  the  patient  fainted  and  died.  It 
is  easy  to  imagine  what  a  blow  to  Simpson,  and  to 
the  cause  of  anaesthesia  this  would  have  been  had  it 
happened  while  the  patient  was  under  chloroform. 

Thus  in  little  more  than  a  year  from  the  date  of 
Morton's  discovery  of  the  powers  of  ether,  Simpson 
had  crowned  the  achievement  by  the  discovery  of  the 

109 


SIR   JAMES    SIMPSON 

equally  wonderful  and  beneficial  powers  of  chloroform. 
Already  he  had  made  two  satisfactory  answers  to 
the  question  he  had  early  set  himself — first,  the  appli- 
cation of  anaesthesia  to  midwifery  practice ;  and,  second, 
the  discovery  of  the  properties  of  the  more  portable 
and  manageable  chloroform  ;  the  third,  and  perhaps 
the  greatest,  the  defence  of  the  practice,  and  the 
beating  down  of  the  powerful  opposition  to  anaesthesia 
was  yet  required  to  render  his  reply  complete. 


IIO 


CHAPTER   VII 

The  Fight  for  Anesthesia.     1847  onwards 

His  faith  in  chloroform — Confused  public  opinion  on  the  subject — 
Personal  attacks — Opposition  on  professional  grounds — His  reply — 
Opposition  on  moral  grounds — His  reply — Opposition  on  religious 
grounds — His  reply — Her  Majesty  the  Queen  anaesthetised — Indis- 
crete supporters — The  Edinburgh  teaching  of  anaesthesia  adminis- 
tration— The  far-reaching  effects  of  the  successful  introduction  of 
anaesthesia. 

PROFESSOR  SIMPSON  firmly  believed  that 
he  possessed  now  in  chloroform  an  anaesthetic 
agent  "more  portable,  more  manageable  and  powerful, 
more  agreeable  to  inhale,  and  less  exciting "  than 
ether,  and  one  giving  him  "  greater  control  and  com- 
mand over  the  superinduction  of  the  anaesthetic  state." 
Fortified  by  this  belief,  full  of  facts  relating  to  the 
subject,  and  fired  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  he  was 
prepared  to  meet  the  opposition  which  from  his 
knowledge  of  human  nature  he  must  have  anticipated. 
So  bravely  and  so  emphatically  did  he  champion  the 

III 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

cause  that  he  became  identified  with  it  in  the  public 
mind.  The  revelation  of  anaesthesia,  the  discovery  of 
chloroform,  and  the  application  of  anaesthetics  to 
surgery  as  w^ell  as  to  midwifery  were  attributed  to  him 
by  all  classes  of  the  community,  not  even  excepting 
many  of  his  own  profession.  Chloroform  was  spoken 
of  as  if  ether  had  never  existed  ;  and  chloroform  and 
chloroforming  displaced  the  terms  anaesthetic  and 
anaesthetising  in  ordinary  talk — such  unwieldy  terms 
were  naturally  abandoned  when  there  was  the  excuse 
that  chloroform  was  universally  considered  the  best 
substance  of  its  class.  Simpson  made  no  attempt  as 
Morton  had  done  to  patent  his  discovery  under  a 
fanciful  nam-e  for  his  own  pecuniary  profit ;  but 
widely  spread  abroad  every  particle  of  knowledge  con- 
cerning it  that  he  possessed,  so  that  every  practitioner 
was  forthv/ith  enabled  to  avail  himself  thereof  for  the 
benefit  of  his  patients. 

Partly  owing  to  his  own  enthusiasm  and  his  strong 
belief  in  the  superiority  of  chloroform  over  ether,  and 
partly  owing  to  the  confusion  prevailing  in  general 
circles  as  to  the  history  of  anaesthesia,  no  small  number 
of  attacks  were  directed  against  Simpson  personally 
by  those  who  either  were  jealous  of  his  achievements, 
or  who  considered  that  the  part  taken  by  themselves 
or  their  friends  in  the  estabHshment  of  this  new  era  in 
medical  science  had  been  sHghted  or  overlooked. 
Simpson  took  all  these  as  part  of  the  fight  into  which 
he    had    entered.       His    nature   was  not   sensitive   to 

112 


THE    FIGHT   FOR   ANESTHESIA 

such  personal  attacks  ;  he  repHed  to  them,  cast 
them  off,  and  went  oji  his  way  unaffected.  He 
handled  some  of  these  oppojients  somewhat  severely 
when  they  accused  him  of  encouraging  the  public 
belief  in  him  as  the  discoverer  of  anaesthesia.  It 
is  clear  to  us  to-day  after  anaesthesia  has  been  on 
its  trial  for  fifty  years  that  Simpson  magnified  the  supe- 
riority of  chloroform  over  ether,  and  was  led  by  that 
feeling  to  look  on  the  history  of  ether  as  but  a  stage 
in  the  history  of  the  greater  chloroform.  He  regarded 
chloroform  as  the  onlv  anaestlictic  ;  his  utterances 
betrayed  this  feeling,  and  offence  was  naturally  taken 
by  the  introducers  and  advocates  of  etlicr.  His 
opinioji  of  chloroform  was  shared  by  the  leading 
European  surgeons  to  such  an  extent  in  his  day  that 
shortly  after  his  death  Professor  Gusserow,  of  Berlin, 
stated  that  with  a  few  exceptions  almost  all  over  the 
earth  nothing  else  was  used  to  produce  anaesthesia  but 
chloroform. 

The  real  fight  for  anaesthesia  was  against  those  who 
found  in  the  practice  something  which  ran  contrary 
to  their  beliefs  or  principles.  There  were  first  those 
who  objected  on  purely  ?ned'tcal  grounds  ;  secondly, 
those  who  took  exception  to  it  from  a  ?noral 
point  of  view  ;  and  thirdly,  those  who  found  their 
religious  convictions  seriously  offended  by  the  new 
practice. 

The  medical  opponents  were,  perhaps,  the  most 
powerful  ;  certainly  it  was  they  who  had  first  to  be 

113  1 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

won  over,  for  without  the  support  of  the  professioji 
the  cause  was  in  danger.  It  was  urged  first  of  all  that 
the  use  of  anaesthetics  would  increase  the  mortality, 
then  very  great,  of  surgical  operations,  and  those  who 
took  their  stand  upon  this  ground  were  men  who  had 
at  first  denied  the  possibility  of  making  operations 
painless,  an.d  had  been  driven  to  abandon  that  opinion 
only  by  a  clear  demonstration  of  the  fact.  To  meet 
this  form  of  opposition  he  instituted  a  laborious  and 
extensive  statistical  investigation  in  order  to  compare 
the  results  obtained  in  hospitals  where  anaesthetics 
were  used  with  those  where  the  operations  were 
performed  on  patients  in  the  waking  state.  He  took 
care  that  the  reports  dealt  with  the  same  operations 
under,  as  nearly  as  possible,  similar  conditions  in  each 
case.  He  obtained  returns  from  close  upon  fifty 
hospitals  in  London,  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  and  various 
provincial  towns.  One  of  the  most  fatal  operations  in 
those  days,  and  one  dreaded  by  patient  and  surgeon 
alike,  was  amputation  of  the  thigh.  In  1845  Pro- 
fessor Syme  said  that  the  stern  evidence  of  hospital 
statistics  showed  that  the  average  frequency  of  death 
after  that  operation  was  not  less  than  60  to  70 
per  cent.,  or  above  one  in  every  two  operated  upon. 
Simpson  fearlessly  collated  statistics  of  this  operation 
amongst  the  others,  and  proved  that  when  performed 
under  anaesthetics  amputation  of  the  thigh  had  its 
mortality  reduced  to  25  per  cent.  His  figures  were 
as  follows  : — 

114 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  ANAESTHESIA 

Table  of  the  Mortality  of  Amputations  of  the  Thigh. 


Reporter. 

I  Parisian  hospitals — Malgaigne 

Edinburgh     .,       — Peacock 

jn  J  General  collection — Phillips 

Glasgow  hospitals — Lawrie 

British         „         — Simpson 

Cases  on  patients  in  an  anaesthetised 
state 


No.  of 
Cases. 

No.  of 
Deaths. 

..     20 I     . 

.      126     .. 

..       43     . 

21      .  . 

..     987     . 

•     435     •• 

..     127     . 

.       46     .'. 

..     284     . 

.     107     .. 

..     145     . 

.       37     •• 

Percentage 
of  Deaths. 

62  in  100 
49     » 
44     » 
36     „ 
3S     „ 


He  pointed  to  the  above  table  as  a  proof  that  far 
from  increasing  the  mortahty  of  this  operation  the 
introduction  of  anaesthetics  had  already  led  to  a  saving 
of  from  eleven  to  twenty  lives  out  of  every  hundred 
cases.  He  acknowledged  that  the  number  of  cases  he 
had  collected  (145)  was  somewhat  small  from  a  statis- 
tical point  of  view  ;  but  he  confidently  asserted  that 
future  figures  would  show  greater  triumphs.  The 
tables  of  other  operations  showed  similar  results, 
and  he  entered  exhaustively  into  the  subject  in 
a  paper  published  in  1848.  The  paper  was  en- 
titled, "  Does  Anaesthesia  increase  or  decrease  the 
mortality  attendant  upon  surgical  operations  ?  "  Ac- 
cording to  his  wont,  he  headed  it  with  a  quotation 
from  Shakspeare  : 

"  Why  doest  thou  whet  thy  knife  so  earnestly  ? 
.  .   .  Shylock  must  be  merciful. 
On  what  compulsion  must  I  ?     Tell  me  that  !  " 

Victorious  in  this  encounter,  he  turned  to  those  who 
115 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

urged  that  anaesthetics  were  responsible  for  various 
kinds  of  ills  such  as  a  tendency  to  haemorrhage,  con- 
vulsions, paralysis,  pneumonia,  and  various  kinds  of 
inflammatory  mischief  as  well  as  mental  derange- 
ment. He  combated  these  contentions  until  the 
end  of  his  career  ;  and  not  only  proved  that  the  objec- 
tions were  visionary,  but  showed  that  for  one  of  the 
alleged  evils  formerly  often  seen  after  operations,  viz., 
convulsions,  chloroform,  far  from  being  a  cause,  was 
one  of  our  most  powerful  remedies. 

But  the  professional  opponents  of  anaesthesia  were 
most  emphatic  in  the  denunciation  of  its  use  in  mid- 
wifery. Pain  in  the  process  of  parturition  was,  they 
said,  "  a  desirable,  salutary,  and  conservative  manifesta- 
tion of  life-force  "  :  neither  its  violence  nor  its  con- 
tinuance was  productive  of  injury  to  the  constitution. 
Strong  opposition  on  these  grounds  came  from  the 
Dublin  School, and  with  characteristic  boldness  Simpson 
turned  to  the  statistics  of  their  own  lying-in  hospital  to 
prove  his  contention  that  to  abolish  parturient  pain 
was  to  diminish  the  peril  of  the  process.  Again  the 
statistics  stood  him  in  good  stead  ;  he  flourished  them 
triumphantly  before  his  opponents,  and  proceeded 
to  deal  with  those  who  asserted  that  the  use  of 
anaesthetics  was  accompanied  by  danger  to  life.  He 
pointed  out  that,  although  unquestionably  there  were 
some  dangers  connected  therewith,  they  were  insigni- 
ficant compared  with  the  dangers  in  both  surgery  and 
midwifery  which  their  use  averted.  Pain  itself  was  a 
ii6 


THE   FIGHT   FOR   ANESTHESIA 

danger  ;  shock  in  surgery  was  responsible  for  many 
untimely  deaths  upon  the  operating  table  ;  by  pre- 
venting these  chloroform  saved  countless  lives.  His 
arguments  were  characterised  by  painstaking  thorough- 
ness and  evidenced  wide  reading.  In  addressing 
Professor  Meigs,  of  Philadelphia,  he  said  : — 

"  First,  I  do  believe  that  if  improperly  and  incau- 
tiously given,  and  in  some  rare  idiosyncrasies,  ether 
and  chloroform  may  prove  injurious  or  even  fatal — 
just  as  opium,  calomel,  and  every  other  powerful 
remedy  and  strong  drug  will  occasionally  do.  Drink- 
ing cold  water  itself  will  sometimes  produce  death. 
*  It  is  well  known,'  says  Dr.  Taylor,  in  his  excellent 
work  on  Medical  Jurisprudence,  *  that  there  are  many 
cases  on  record  in  which  cold  water,  swallowed  in 
large  quantity  and  in  an  excited  state  of  the  system, 
has  led  to  the  destruction  of  life.'  Should  we  there- 
fore never  allay  our  thirst  with  cold  water  ?  What 
would  the  disciples  of  Father  Mathew  say  to  this  ? 
But,  secondly,  you  and  others  have  very  unnecessary 
and  aggravated  fears  about  the  dangers  of  ether  and 
chloroform,  and  in  the  course  of  experience  you  will 
find  these  fears  to  be,  in  a  great  measure,  perfectly 
ideal  and  imaginary.  But  the  same  fears  have,  in 
the  first  instance,  been  conjured  up  against  almost 
all  other  innovations  in  medicine  and  in  the  common 
luxuries  of  life.  Cavendish,  the  secretary  to  Cardinal 
Wolsey,  tells  us  in  his  life  of  that  prelate,  that  when 
the    cardinal    was    banished    from    London    to    York 

117 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

by  his  master — that  regal  Robespierre,  Henry  the 
Eighth — many  of  the  cardinal's  servants  refused  to  go 
such  an  enormous  journey — 'for  they  were  loath  to 
abandon  their  native  country,  their  parents,  wives,  and 
children.'  The  journey  which  can  now  be  accomplished 
in  six  hours  was  considered  then  a  perfect  banish- 
ment. ...  In  his  Life  of  Lord  Loughborough,  John 
Lord  Campbell  tells  us  that  when  he  (the  biographer) 
first  travelled  from  Edinburgh  to  London  in  the  mail- 
coach  the  time  had  been  reduced  (from  the  former 
twelve  or  fourteen  days)  to  three  nights  and  two  days  ; 
'  but,'  he  adds,  '  this  new  and  swift  travelling  from 
the  Scots  to  the  English  capital  was  wonderful,  and  I 
was  gravely  advised  to  stop  a  day  at  York  as  several 
passengers  who  had  gone  through  without  stopping 
had  died  of  apoplexy  from  the  rapidity  of  the  motion  ' 
('Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancellors').  Be  assured  that 
many  of  the  cases  of  apoplexy,  &c.,  &c.,  alleged  to 
arise  from  ether  and  chloroform,  have  as  veritable  an 
etiology  as  this  apoplexy  from  rapid  locomotion,  and 
that  a  few  years  hence  they  will  stand  in  the  same 
light  in  which  we  now  look  back  upon  the  apoplexy 
from  travellinof  ten  miles  an  hour.  And  as  to  the 
supposed  great  moral  and  physical  evils  and  injuries 
arising  from  the  use  of  ether  and  chloroform,  they  will 
by  and  by,  I  believe,  sound  much  in  the  same  way 
as  the  supposed  great  moral  and  physical  evils  and 
injuries  arising  from  using  hackney  coaches,  which 
were  seriously  described   by  Taylor,  the    water-poet, 

ii8 


THE   FIGHT   FOR   AN/ESTHESIA 

two  or  three  centuries  ago  when  these  coaches  were 
introduced.  Taylor  warned  his  fellow-creatures  to 
avoid  them,  otherwise  ^  they  would  find  their  bodies 
tossed,  tumbled,  rumbled,  and  jumbled  '  without  mercy. 
'  The  coach,'  says  he,  '  is  a  close  hypocrite,  for  it  hath 
a  cover  for  knavery  ;  they  (the  passengers)  are  carried 
back  to  back  in  it  like  people  surprised  by  pirates,  and 
moreover  it  maketh  men  imitate  sea-crabs  in  being 
drawn  sideways,  and  altogether  it  is  a  dangerous 
carriage  for  the  commonwealth.'  Then  he  proceeds 
to  call  them  'hell-carts,'  &c.,  and  vents  upon  them  a 
great  deal  of  other  abuse  very  much  of  the  same  kind 
and  character  as  that  lavished  against  anaesthetics  in 
our  own  day." 

Following  out  the  same  line  of  reasoning  he  brought 
to  the  minds  of  medical  opponents  how  the  introducers 
of  such  useful  drugs  as  mercury,  antimony,  and  cinchona 
bark  had  met  with  now  long-forgotten  but  stubborn 
opposition  ;  and  he  reminded  surgeons  of  the  stern 
obstinacy  with  which  the  introduction  of  the  ligature 
of  arteries  had  been  long  objected  to  and  the  barbarous 
method  of  arresting  bleeding  with  red-hot  irons  had 
been  preferred.  But  in  the  history  of  the  discovery 
and  introduction  of  vaccination  by  Jenner  he  found  a 
strong  parallel  ;  and  he  wrote  a  pregnant  article  to 
prove  that  mere  opinion  and  prejudgments  were  not 
sufficient  to  settle  the  question  of  the  propriety  or 
impropriety  of  anaesthetic  agents,  illustrating  it  from 
the  story  of  vaccination.  The  result  of  vaccina- 
119 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

tion  had  been  to  save  during  the  half  century  since  its 
introduction  a  number  of  lives  in  England  alone  equal 
to  the  vi^hole  existing  population  of  Wales  ;  and  in 
Europe  during  the  same  period  it  had  preserved  a 
number  of  lives  greater  than  the  v^hole  existing 
population  of  Great  Britain.  And  yet  Jenner,  when 
he  first  announced  his  discovery,  had  encountered  the 
most  determined  opposition  on  the  part  of  many  of 
his  professional  brethren,  w^ho  ridiculed  and  bitterly 
denounced  both  him  and  his  discovery ;  v^^hilst 
ignorant  laymen  announced  that  small-pox  was 
ordained  by  heaven  and  vaccination  was  a  daring  and 
profane  violation  of  holy  religion.  He  pointed  out 
that  these  objections  had  been  slowly  and  surely 
crushed  out  of  existence  by  accumulated  facts,  and 
predicted  that  the  ultimate  decision  concerning  anaes- 
thesia would  come  to  be  based,  not  upon  impressions, 
opinions,  and  prejudices,  but  upon  the  evidence  of  "  a 
sufficient  body  of  accurate  and  well-ascertained  facts." 
To  these  facts,  as  has  been  indicated,  he  subsequently 
successfully  appealed. 

Those  who  objected  to  anaesthesia  on  moral  grounds 
directed  their  attacks  chiefly  against  its  use  in  mid- 
wifery. They  not  only  condemned  that  application 
as  iniquitous,  but  went  the  length  of  asserting  that 
the  birth  of  past  myriads  without  it  proved  how 
unnecessary  it  was,  and  that  Nature  conducted  the 
whole  process  of  birth  unaided  in  a  greatly  superior 
manner.       The     pains     associated     with     parturition 

120 


THE   FIGHT   FOR   ANESTHESIA 

were  actually  beneficial,  they  said.  Simpson  answered 
this  by  showing  that  the  proper  use  of  anaesthetics 
shortened  parturition,  and  by  diminishing  the  amount 
of  pain  led  to  more  rapid  and  more  perfect  recoveries. 
The  leading  exponent  of  the  Dublin  School  of  Mid- 
wifery at  that  time  foolishly  wrote  that  he  did  not 
think  any  one  in  Dublin  had  as  yet  used  anaesthetics 
in  midwifery ;  that  the  feeling  was  very  strong  against 
its  use  in  ordinary  cases,  merely  to  avert  the  ordinary 
amount  of  pain,  which  the  Almighty  had  seen  fit — 
and  most  wisely,  no  doubt — to  allot  to  natural  labour  ; 
and  in  this  feeling  he  (the  writer)  most  heartily  con- 
curred. Simpson's  private  comment  on  this  remarkable 
epistle  at  once  showed  his  opinion  of  it,  and  ridiculed 
the  objection  out  of  existence.  He  skilfully  parodied 
the  letter  thus  : — "I  do  not  believe  that  any  one  in 
Dublin  has  as  yet  used  a  carriage  in  locomotion  ;  the 
feeling  is  very  strong  against  its  use  in  ordinary  pro- 
gression, merely  to  avert  the  ordinary  amount  of 
fatigue  which  the  Almighty  has  seen  fit — and  most 
wisely,  no  doubt — to  allot  to  natural  walking  ;  and  in 
this  feeling  I  heartily  and  entirely  concur." 

He  twitted  the  surgeons  who  opposed  him  with 
their  sudden  discovery,  now  that  anaesthetics  were 
introduced,  that  there  was  something  really  beneficial 
in  the  pain  and  agony  caused  by  their  dreaded  knife. 
Such  a  contention  contraverted  his  cherished  principle 
that  the  function  of  the  medical  man  was  not  only  to 
prolong   life,   but  also  to  alleviate   human  sufferings. 

121 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

•He  quoted  authorities  of  all  times  to  show  that  pain 
had  been  always  abhorred  by  physicians  and  surgeons, 
commencing  with  a  reference  to  Galen's  aphorism — 
^^  Dolor  dolentibus  inutile  est'"'  ("pain  is  useless  to  the 
pained  ")  ;  citing  Ambroise  Pare,  who  said  that  pain 
ought  to  be  assuaged  because  nothing  so  much  de- 
jected the  powers  of  the  patient  ;  and,  finally,  repro- 
ducing the  words  of  modern  authors,  who  asserted 
that,  far  from  being  conducive  to  well-being,  pain 
exhausted  the  principle  of  life,  and  in  itself  was  fre- 
quently both  dangerous  and  destructive.  He  brought 
forward  a  collection  of  cases  where  in  former  days 
patients  had  died  on  the  operating-table,  even  before 
the  surgeon  had  begun  his  work,  so  great  was  the 
influence  of  the  mere  fear  of  pain ;  and  reminded  those 
who  attributed  occasional  deaths  on  the  operating- 
table  to  the  influence  of  the  anaesthetic  of  the 
numerous  cases  in  bygone  days  where  death  occurred 
whilst  the  surgeon  was  at  work.  He  recalled  also 
how  the  great  surgeon  of  St.  Thomas's  Hospital, 
Cheselden,  had-abhorred  the  pain  which  he  caused  in 
the  process  of  his  work,  and  longed  for  some  means 
for  its  prevention.  "  No  one,"  said  Cheselden,  "  ever 
endured  more  anxiety  and  sickness  before  an  operation  " 
than  himself. 

Simpson  did  not  forget  to  look  at  the  subject  from 
the  patient's  point  of  view,  and  reproduced  the  letter 
from  an  old  patient,  which  has  been  already  quoted 
(Chapter  VI.). 

122 


THE   FIGHT    FOR   ANESTHESIA 

The  soldier  and  sailor,  brave  unto  heroism  in 
facing  the  enemy,  never  fearing  the  death  w^hich 
stared  them  in  the  face  in  its  most  horrible  form 
whilst  answering  the  call  of  duty,  would  quail  like 
children  at  the  mere  thought  of  submitting  to  the 
deliberate  knife  of  the  surgeon.  Were  quibbles 
about  the  efficacy  of  pain  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
merciful  prevention  of  such  suffering  by  the  process  of 
anaesthetisation  ? 

Those  who  opposed  him  with  this  curious  idea, 
that  pain  after  all  was  beneficial,  were  some  of 
them  men  of  no  mean  standing  in  the  profession. 
Gull,  Bransby  Cooper,  and  Nunn  were  amongst  those 
whom  he  had  to  silence.  After  replying  to  their 
arguments  seriatim  with  all  his  polemic  power,  he 
referred  them  once  more  to  the  evidence  of  facts 
and  of  facts  alone  as  set  forth  by  his  statistics.  Had 
he   lived   but   a   twelvemonth   lonsrer  than   he   did  he 

D 

would  have  been  able  to  conjure  up  a  picture  of  the 
incalculable  amount  of  suffering  prevented  by  the 
eighteen  hundred  pounds  of  chloroform  which  were 
forwarded  to  the  rival  armies  from  one  firm  of 
chemists  alone  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war  ;  happily 
for  the  wounded  within  and  around  Paris,  there  was 
then  no  longer  any  doubt  as  to  the  propriety  of 
employing  anaesthetics. 

The  religious  objections  to  the  use  of  anaesthetics 
could  scarcely  be  m^et  with  statistics.  Foolish  as  they 
now  appear  to  us  after  the  lapse  of  time,  and  with  the 

123 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

practice  they  attempted  to  repel  universally  adopted, 
they  were  nevertheless  urged  in  good  faith  by  clergy 
and  laity  of  various  denominations.  The  same  kind 
of  bigotry  had  met  the  introduction  of  vaccination, 
and  Simpson  himself  remembered  how  many  people 
had  opposed  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  the  lineal  descendants  of  Ham, 
of  whom  it  was  said  "  a  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be 
unto  his  brethren."  Sir  Walter  Scott  reminds  us,  in 
"  Old  Mortality,"  of  the  spirit  which  met  the  intro- 
duction of  fanners  to  separate  the  chaff  from  the  corn, 
which  displaced  the  ancient  method  of  tossing  the 
corn  in  the  air  upon  broad  shovels.  Headrigg  re- 
proved Lady  Bellenden  for  allowing  the  new  process  to 
be  used  on  her  farm,  "  thus  impiously  thwarting  the 
will  of  Divine  'Providence  by  raising  a  wind  for  your 
leddyship's  ain  particular  use  by  human  art,  instead  of 
soliciting  it  by  prayer  or  waiting  patiently  for  whatever 
dispensation  of  wind  Providence  was  pleased  to  send 
upon  the  sheeling  hill." 

To-day  in  South  Africa  the  same  spirit  is  seen. 
Honest  countryfolk  of  European  descent  are  earnestly 
counselled  by  their  spiritual  advisers  to  submit  patiently 
to  the  plague  of  locusts  on  the  ground  that  it  comes 
as  a  punishment  from  Providence.  These  worthy 
men  stolidly  witness  their  cornfields  and  their  grass 
lands  being  eaten  bare  before  their  eyes  in  a  few 
hours,  whilst  their  more  enlightened  neighbours, 
brought  up   in   another  faith,  resort  with   success  to 

124 

\ 


\ 


THE   FIGHT   FOR   ANAESTHESIA 

all  sorts  of  artifices  to  ward  off  the  destructive  little 
invaders. 

It  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  record  that  Dr.  Chalmers, 
one  of  the  heroes  of  Scots  religious  history,  not  only 
countenanced  chloroform  by  witnessing  operations 
performed  under  it  in  the  Royal  Infirmary,  but  when 
requested  to  deal  in  a  magazine  article  with  the 
theological  aspect  of  anaesthesia  refused  on  the  ground 
that  the  question  had  no  theological  aspect,  and  advised 
Simpson  and  his  friends  to  take  no  heed  of  the  "small 
theologians  "  who  advocated  such  views.  This  was 
futile  advice  to  give  to  one  of  Professor  Simpson's 
controversial  propensities  ;  he  entered  with  keen  en- 
joyment into  the  fray  with  these  "religious"  oppo- 
nents. His  famous  pamphlet,  entitled, "  Answer  to  the 
Religious  Objections  advanced  against  the  employment 
of  Anaesthetic  Agents  in  Midwifery  and  Surgery," 
fought  his  enemies  with  their  own  weapons  by  appeal- 
ing with  consummate  skill  to  Scripture  for  authority 
for  the  practice.  The  paper  was  headed  with  two 
scriptural  verses  : — "  For  every  creature  of  God  is 
good,  and  nothing  to  be  refused  if  it  be  received  with 
thanksgiving"  (i  Timothy  iv.  4).  "Therefore  to 
him  that  knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not  to  him 
it  is  sin  "  (James  iv.  17). 

The  principal  standpoint  of  the  religious  opponents 
was  the  primeval  curse  upon  womanhood  to  be  found 
in  Genesis.  Simpson  swept  the  ground  from  under  his 
opponents'  feet  by  reference  to  and  study  of  the  original 

125 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

Hebrew  text.  The  word  translated — "sorrow"  ("I 
will  greatly  multiply  thy  sorrow  ...  in  sorrow  shalt 
thou  bring  forth  ") — was  the  same  as  that  rendered  as 
"sorrow"  in  the  curse  applied  to  man  ("in  sorrow 
shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life  ").  Not 
only  did  the  Hebrew  word  thus  translated  sorrow 
really  mean  labour,  toil,  or  physical  exertion  ;  but  in 
other  parts  of  the  Bible  an  entirely  different  Hebrew 
word  was  used  to  express  the  actual  pain  incident  to 
parturition.  The  contention,  then,  that  sorrow  in 
the  curse  meant  pain  was  valueless.  Chloroform  re- 
lieved the  real  pain  not  referred  to  in  the  curse, 
whereas  it  had  no  effect  upon  the  sorrow  or  physical 
exertion. 

If,  however,  the  curse  was  to  be  taken  literally  in 
its  application  to  woman  as  these  persons  averred,  and 
granting  for  the  moment  that  sorrow  did  mean 
pain,  their  position  was  entirely  illogical.  If  one  part 
of  the  curse  was  to  be  interpreted  literally,  so  must  be 
the  other  parts,  and  this  would  have  a  serious  effect  of 
a  revolutionary  nature  upon  man  and  the  human  race 
all  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  Literally  speaking,  the 
curse  condemned  the  farmer  who  pulled  up  his  thorns 
and  thistles,  as  well  as  the  man  who  used  horses  or 
oxen,  water-power,  or  steam-traction  to  perform  the 
work  by  which  he  earned  his  bread  ;  for  was  he  not 
thereby  saving  the  sweat  of  his  face  ? 

Pushed  further,  the  same  argument  rendered  these 
contentions  more  absurd  and  untenable.      Man  was 
126 


THE   FIGHT   FOR    ANtESTHESIA 

condemned  to  die — "  dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  thou 
shalt  return."  What  right  had  the  physician  or 
surgeon  to  use  his  skill  to  prolong  life,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  conscientiously  abstained  from  the  use 
of  anaesthetics  on  the  ground  that  they  obviated  pain 
sent  by  the  Deity  ?  Nay,  more  ;  sin  itself  was  the 
result  of  the  Fall  ;  was  not  the  Church  herself 
erroneously  labouring  to   turn  mankind  from   sin  ? 

In  a  truer  and  more  serious  religious  spirit  he 
reminded  his  foolish  opponents  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, and  pointed  out  how  the  employment  of 
anaesthesia  was  in  strict  consonance  with  the  glorious 
spirit  thereof. 

Some  persons  broadly  stated  that  the  new  process 
was  unnatural  ;  even  these  he  condescended  to 
answer.  "  How  unnatural,"  exclaimed  an  Irish  lady, 
"for  you  doctors  in  Edinburgh  to  take  away  the 
pains  of  your  patients."  "How  unnatural,"  said  he, 
"  it  is  for  you  to  have  swam  over  from  Ireland  to 
Scotland  against  wind  and  tide  in  a  steam-boat." 

A  son  of  De  Quincey  in  his  graduation  thesis 
humorously  supported  Professor  Simpson.  He  argued 
that  the  unmarried  woman  who  opposed  anaesthetics 
on  the  ground  that  her  sex  was  condemned  by  the 
curse  to  suffer  pains,  broke  the  command  herself  "  in 
four  several  ways,  according  to  the  following  tabular 
statement "  : — 

"  I.  She  has  no  conception. 
2.  She  brings  forth  no  children. 
127 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

3.  Her  desire  is  not  to  her  husband. 

4.  The  husband  does  not  rule  over  her.'* 

De  Quincey  himself  supported  his  son  in  a  letter 
appended  to  the  thesis  thus  : — "  If  pain  when  carried 
to  the  stage  which  we  call  agony  or  intense  struggle 
amongst  vital  functions  brings  with  it  some  danger 
to  hfe,  then  it  will  follow  that  knowingly  to  reject 
a  means  of  mitigating  or  wholly  cancelling  the  danger 
now  that  such  means  has  been  discovered  and  tested, 
travels  on  the  road  towards  suicide.  It  is  even  worse 
than  an  ordinary  m^ovement  in  that  direction,  because 
it  makes  God  an  accomplice,  through  the  Scriptures, 
in  this  suicidal  movement,  nay,  the  primal  instigator 
to  it,  by  means  of  a  supposed  curse  interdicting  the 
use  of  any  means  whatever  (though  revealed  by  Him- 
self) for  annulling  that  curse." 

But  the  Bible  furnished  Simpson  with  the  most 
powerful  argument  of  all  in  Genesis  ii.  21,  where  it  is 
written  :  "  And  the  Lord  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to 
fall  upon  Adam  ;  and  he  slept  ;  and  He  took  one  of 
his  ribs  and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof."  He 
strengthened  his  position  by  explaining  that  the  word 
rendered  "  deep  sleep "  might  more  correctly  be 
translated  "  coma  "  or  "  lethargy."  He  had  taken 
the  full  measure  of  his  opponents  when  he  answered 
them  with  this  quotation  ;  it  was  a  reply  characteristic 
of  the  man,  and  completely  defeated  these  self-con- 
stituted theologians  with  their  own  weapons.  They 
had    attacked    him   as  a   man    of  science,  and    found 

128 


THE    FIGHT   FOR   ANESTHESIA 

that  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  excelled  their  own. 
He  did  not  fail  to  read  these  people  a  lesson,  and  point 
out  the  harm  done  to  true  religion  by  such  conduct 
and  arguments  as  theirs,  reminding  them  that  if  God 
had  willed  pain  to  be  irremovable  no  possible  device 
of  man  could  ever  have  removed  it. 

Such  was  the  great  fight — the  fight  for  anaesthesia — 
which  Simpson  fought  and  won.  He  was  the  one 
man  who  by  his  own  individual  effort  established  the 
practice  of  anaesthesia,  while  Morton  has  the  honour 
of  being  the  one  man  without  whom  anaesthesia  might 
have  remained  unknown.  Such  was  the  opposition  en- 
countered, and  such  was  the  timidity  of  his  professional 
brethren,  that  but  for  Simpson's  courageous  efforts  it 
would  have  been  the  work  of  years  to  bring  about  what 
it  was  granted  to  him  to  accomplish  in  a  brief  period  ; 
if  fear,  ridicule,  contempt,  and  bigotry  had  not  perhaps 
sunk  the  new  practice  into  oblivion.  Of  the  hundreds 
who  are  daily  mercifully  brought  under  the  influence 
of  chloroform  and  ether,  few  are  aware  what  they 
owe  to  Simpson,  even  if  they  know  how  great  is  the 
suffering  which  they  are  spared. 

Simpson  felt  that  the  victory  was  indeed  complete 
when  in  April,  1853,  he  received  a  letter  from  Sir 
James  Clark,  physician  in  ordinary  to  Her  Majesty, 
informing  him  that  the  Queen  had  been  brought 
under  the  influence  of  chloroform,  and  had  expressed 
herself  as  greatly  pleased  with  the  result.  It  was  at 
the  birth  of  the  late  Prince  Leopold  that  Her  Majesty 
set  her  subjects  this  judicious  example. 

129  K 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

Much  trouble  to  the  cause  was  occasioned  by 
enthusiasts  who  administered  chloroform  with  more 
zeal  than  discretion,  and  without  any  study  of  the 
principles  laid  down  by  Simpson.  As  a  result  of 
imperfect  trials,  some  persons  went  the  length  of 
saying  that  there  were  people  v/hom  it  was  impossible 
to  anaesthetise  at  all,  and  others  who  could  be  only 
partially  anaesthetised.  Wrong  methods  of  adminis- 
tration were  used.  Simpson  patiently  corrected  these, 
and  carefully  instructed  his  students,  so  that  the  young 
graduates  of  Edinburgh  University  carried  his  teaching 
and  practice  into  all  parts  of  the  world.  Syme  also 
took  up  the  cause,  and  valuable  work  was  done  in 
London  by  Snow,  and  later  by  Clover.  The  teaching 
of  Simpson  and  Syme  led  to  such  successful  results 
that  their  methods  are  followed  by  the  Edinburgh 
School  to  this  day  practically  unaltered.  So  satis- 
factory an  agent  is  chloroform  in  Edinburgh  hands, 
that  other  anaesthetics  are  in  that  city  but  rarely  called 
into  requisition.  All  the  world  over  it  is  the  anaes- 
thetic in  which  the  general  practitioner  places  his 
trust. 

Having  seen  what  Simpson  did  for  anaesthesia,  we 
may  briefly  review  what  anaesthesia  has  done  for 
humanity.  That  it  has  entirely  abolished  the  pain 
attendant  upon  surgery  is  easily  recognised  by  the 
profession  and  patients  alike.  The  patient  never  begs 
for  mercy  nowadays  ;  he  dreads  the  anaesthetic  more 
than  the  knife  ;  he  has  no  anxiety  as  to  whether  he 

130 


THE   FIGHT   FOR   ANESTHESIA 

will  feel  pain  or  not,  but  rather  as  to  whether  he  will 
come  round  when  the  operation  is  over  ;  happily 
after  one  experience  he  realises  that  his  fears  were 
unfounded,  and,  if  need  be,  will  submit  cheerfully 
to  a  second  administration. 

The  horrors  of  the  operating-room  referred  to  in 
the  preceding  chapter  were  vanquished  with  the  pafn  ; 
the  surgeon  has  no  longer  to  steel  himself  for  the 
task  as  formerly,  to  wear  a  stern  aspect  and  adopt  a 
harsh  manner.  The  patient  has  no  longer  to  be  held 
down  by  assistants  ;  instead  of  having  to  be  dragged 
unwillingly  to  the  operating-table — a  daily  occurrence 
sickening  to  the  hearts  of  fellow-patients  and  students, 
while  it  served  only  to  harden  the  surgeon  and  the 
experienced  old  nurse  of  those  days — he  will  walk 
quietly  to  the  room,  or  submit  patiently  to  be  carried 
there,  and  at  a  word  from  the  surgeon  prepare 

" .    ,  .    .to  storm 
The  thick,  sweet  mystery  of  chloroform, 
The  drunken  dark,  the  little  death-in-life." 

The  operation  is  no  longer  a  race  against  time  ; 
order,  method,  cleanliness,  and  silence  prevail,  where 
there  was  formerly  disorder,  bustle,  confusion,  dirt, 
and  long-drawn  shrieks.  Nothing  illustrates  better 
the  progress  of  surgery  than  a  picture  of  the  operating 
room  in  the  first  decade  placed  beside  that  of  an 
operating  theatre  in  one  of  our  leading  hospitals  in 
this  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In 
the  quiet  of  the  patient,  in  the    painlessness    of  the 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

operation,  in  the  calm  deliberation  of  the  operator, 
and  the  methodical  order  of  all  around  him,  in  the 
respectful  silence  that  prevails  in  the  room  so  soon 
as  the  patient  is  laid  on  the  table,  we  see  the  direct 
results  of  the  introduction  of  anaesthetics.  But  there 
are  other  great,  if  less  direct,  results,  each  making  its 
presence  known  to  the  professional  spectator.  By 
anaesthesia  successful  operations  previously  unheard  of 
and  unthought  of  were  made  possible  after  the 
principle  of  antiseptic  surgery  had  been  established  ;  by 
anaesthesia  experimental  research,  which  has  led  to 
numerous  beneficent  results  in  practical  surgery  and 
medicine,  was  made  possible.  Its  introduction  is  an 
achievement  of  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  may  well 
be  proud.  Wells,  Morton,  and  Simpson  are  its  heroes. 
The  United  States  has  by  far  the  greater  share  of  the 
honour  of  its  discovery  ;  but  to  Scotland  is  due  the 
glory  which  comes  from  the  victorious  fight.  No 
event  in  surgery  up  to  1847  ^^^  ^^^  ^'^^^  far-reaching 
effects.  Simpson  himself  looked  forward  to  the  dis- 
covery of  some  agent,  better  than  both  chloroform 
and  ether  ;  and  it  is  still  possible  that  there  may  be  an 
even  greater  future  in  store  for  anaesthesia  than  was 
ever  dreamt  of  in  his  philosophy. 


132 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Home  Life — Controversies 

The  foundations  of  his  fame  ;  Comparison  with  Boerhaave — Family 
letters — Home  amusements — Affection  for  children — And  for 
animals — Puck — Holidays — Wide  area  of  practice — "The  arrows 
of  malignancy  " — Squabbles — Homoeopathy — Mesmerism — Refuses 
to  leave  Edinburgh. 

GREAT  as  was  Simpson's  contemporary  fame, 
the  chief  part  of  it  had  its  origin  in  his 
indescribable  personal  power  over  his  fellows,  and  in 
his  inexhaustible  energy.  When  to  these  was  added 
the  reputation  won  by  the  discovery  of  chloroform's 
anaesthetic  properties,  he  stood  not  only  as  the  most 
famous  physician  of  his  day,  but  also  as  a  man  marked 
out  for  posthumous  fame.  The  personal  character- 
istics of  the  man  were  speedily  forgotten  after  his 
death,  save  by  those  who  had  been  brought  under 
their  influence  ;  the  marked  prominence  given  to 
Simpson  and  the  "  discovery  of  chloroform "  in  the 
numerous  recent  reviews  of  Queen  Victoria's  reign  on 
the  occasion  of  the  Diamond  Jubilee,  indicates  that  it 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

is  by  chloroform  that  Simpson  will  ever  be  re- 
membered. His  lasting  reputation  depends  on  this 
work,  not  upon  the  characteristics  which  made  him 
famous  in  the  judgment  of  his  contemporaries.  The 
only  physician  in  comparatively  modern  times,  whose 
reputation  approached  Simpson's  in  magnitude  was 
Hermann  Boerhaave  (1668  to  1738),  the  Dutch 
physician,  whose  fame  and  influence  during  his 
own  lifetime  were  immense.  Boerhaave's  leading 
characteristics  greatly  resembled  Simpson's  :  he  had 
an  enormous  capacity  for  acquiring  information, 
and  a  wonderful  facility  for  imparting  instruction  to 
others  ;  his  energy  and  industry  were  indefatigable, 
and  his  memory  prodigious.  He  taught  from  separate 
Chairs  in  Ley  den  the  Theory  of  Medicine,  the  Practice 
of  Medicine,  Botany,  Chemistry,  and  Clinical  Medicine, 
and  at  the  same  time  carried  on  his  large  practice. 
Patients  of  both  sexes  flocked  to  him  from,  all  quarters 
of  the  globe,  and  he  is  said  to  have  accumulated  from 
his  practice  a  fortune  of  ^200,000  in  five  and  thirty 
years.  Although  his  treatment  and  method  were, 
according  to  our  modern  knowledge,  unscientific, 
his  success  in  practice  was  as  great  as  Simpson's  ;  it 
sprang  from  the  same  cause  ;  a  wonderful  magnetic 
personal  influence,  which  commanded  confidence  and 
faith,  so  that  he  succeeded  with  the  same  possibly  quite 
simple  means  which  were  fruitless  in  the  hands  of 
others.  In  his  day  all  Europe  rang  with  Boerhaave's 
name.     To-day  he  is  practically  unknown.    His  books 

^34 


HOME   LIFE 

are  antiquated,  and  if  known,  are  neglected  by- 
modern  physicians.  He  achieved  nothing  of  lasting 
benefit  to  humanity.  His  fate,  at  least  so  far  as  the 
public  is  concerned,  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
Simpson's,  in  spite  of  his  obstetric  and  gynaeco- 
logical work,  had  it  not  been  for  the  discovery  of 
chloroform. 

The  increased  fame  and  greatly  increased  pro- 
fessional income  which  followed  the  successful  struggle 
for  anaesthesia  did  not  affect  Simpson's  homely 
characteristics.  He  found  time  in  the  midst  of  it 
all  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  home  in  the  society  of 
those  he  loved  best,  and  of  intimate  friends.  He 
took  a  keen  delight  in  quite  the  smallest  enjoy- 
ments of  the  home  circle.  A  characteristic  letter  was 
written  to  his  wife  in  the  summer  of  1849  5  ^^e  had 
gone  with  the  children  to  the  Isle  of  Man  ;  he  told 
her  the  great  and  small  events  of  his  daily  life  : — 

"  Delighted  to  hear  from  you  that  all  were  so  well. 
Everything  goes  on  nicely  here.  I  have  been  looking 
out  for  a  headache  (but  keep  excellently  well),  for  I 
have  been  working  very  busily,  and  scarcely  with 
enough  of  sleep.  Yesterday  beat  (as  Clark  writes  it) 
any  day  I  ever  yet  saw  in  the  house.  Did  not  get  out 
till  half-past  four,  and  the  drawing-room  actually  filled 
beyond  the  number  of  chairs  and  seats  !  Have  had  a 
capital  sleep,  and  got  up  to  look  at  the  ducks;  but 
none  laying  this  morning,  so  I  write  instead.  To-day 
I  have  a  fancy  to  run  out  to  Bathgate,  and  I  think  I 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

will.  .  .  .  Yesterday  dined  with  Miller,  and  Williamson, 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch's  huntsman,  enlightened  us 
about  dogs.  Miller  and  I  go  to  Hamilton  Palace  on 
Saturday.  .  .  .  My  ducks  won't  lay  any  more  eggs, 
at  which  I  feel  very  chagrined.  .  .  .  Two  salmon 
came  as  presents  last  week.  1  gave  one  to  Mrs. 
Bennet.  We  are  beginning  a  new  batch  of  exam- 
inations at  the  college.  Such  a  sleep  as  I  had  yesterday 
morning  !  I  came  home  by  the  last  Glasgow  train, 
very  tired.  Tom  came  to  waken  me  at  eight,  but  I 
snored  so  that  he  didn't.  He  called  me  at  half-past 
nine.  I  don't  think  I  had  stirred  from  the  moment  I 
lay  down.  This  morning  I  have  been  reading  in  bed 
since  six.  I  did  not  rise  till  now  (half-past  seven), 
because  there  was  no  duck  laying." 

In  another  letter  written  on  the  same  occasion  he 
says  : — 

" .  .  .  .  Tell  Davie  I  expect  a  letter  from  him. 
Say  to  Walter  that  yesterday  Carlo  jumped  into  the 
carriage  after  me  and  saw  with  me  several  patients. 
He  usually  mounted  a  chair  at  the  side  of  each  bed 
and  looked  in.  But  Mrs.  S.  gave  him  too  much 
encouragement.  He  leaped  into  bed  altogether  and 
tramped  upon  a  blister  !  which  was  very  painful." 

It  was  his  custom  to  keep  open  house  at  breakfast 
and  luncheon  time  ;  but  the  evening  meal  was,  as  a 
rule,  reserved  so  that  he  might  see  and  enjoy  his  own 
family  and  intimates.  He  lived  exceedingly  plainly 
himself;   he   did   not  smoke;   his   drink   was  water: 

136 


HOME   LIFE 

but  he  delighted  in  setting  a  goodly  repast  before  his 
guests.  He  loved  a  romp  with  his  children,  and 
spared  an  occasional  hour  from  the  afternoon  for  that 
enjoyment.  The  same  energy  entered  into  his  play 
that  was  seen  in  his  work.  A  craze  ran  through 
fashionable  circles  in  the  fifties  for  tableaux  vivants, 
and  was  taken  up  by  the  Simpson  household.  He 
entered  with  spirit  into  the  new  amusement,  perhaps 
more  keenly  because  he  saw  an  opportunity  of  com- 
bining in  such  representations  instruction  with  amuse- 
ment. Historical  personages  and  scenes  were  repre- 
sented, as  well  as  illustrations  of  poetry  and  fiction. 
With  his  infective  enthusiasm  he  pressed  poets  and 
painters,  grave  and  gay,  into  service,  and  there  is  a 
record  of  one  highly  successful  entertainment  at  52, 
Queen  Street,  in  1854,  ^^  which  young  and  old  alike 
were  invited.  On  this  occasion  most  of  the  scenes 
represented  serious  events  in  Scots  history,  but  Simp- 
son himself  seems  to  have  supplied  a  little  comedy. 
Sandwiched  between  a  scene  of  "  Flora  Macdonald 
watching  Prince  Charlie  "  and  one  of  "  Rebecca  and 
Eleazar  at  the  Well "  came  that  of  "  The  Babes  in 
the  Wood."  Simpson  and  a  professional  colleague 
disported  themselves  as  the  Babes,  and  appeared  suck- 
ing oranges  and  dressed  as  children — short  dresses, 
pinafores,  frilled  drawers,  white  socks,  and  children's 
shoes.  They  wandered  about  a  while,  and  then  lay 
weeping  down  to  die  to  an  accompaniment  of  roars  of 
laughter  and  to  the  great  delight  of  the  juveniles.     It 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

is  but  a  small  incident  to  chronicle,  but  it  shows  in  his 
home  life  the  great  physician  who  was  beloved  by 
thousands.  His  deep  sympathies  made  him  delight 
in  the  society  of  children.  As  years  increased,  and 
with  them  work  became  overwhelming  and  worries 
and  troubles  persistent,  he  appreciated  more  and  more 
the  refreshment  of  a  frolic  with  his  children.  He 
echoed  Longfellow's  pure  words  : — 

"  Come  to  me,  oh  ye  children, 
For  I  hear  you  at  your  play, 
And  the  questions  that  perplexed  me 
Have  vanished  quite  away. 

For  what  are  all  our  contrivings, 

And  the  wisdom  of  our  books, 
When  compared  with  your  caresses 

And  the  gladness  of  your  looks." 

His  afFectionafe  disposition  and  kindly  manner  gained 
the  devotion  of  his  many  child  patients  ;  and  his  own 
family  bereavements  made  him  a  sympathetic  physician 
and  friend  to  many  a  sorrowing  mother.  There  was 
no  cant  or  affectation  in  his  sympathy  ;  it  grew  out  of 
his  large  heart. 

Animals  also  he  was  fond  of  and  gentle  to,  as  we 
know  from  the  history  of  the  dogs  who  successively 
reigned  in  the  household,  so  charmingly  given  to  us 
by  his  daughter.  One  episode  in  the  life  of  Puck,  a 
black  and  tan  terrier  more  intelligent  than  "  breedy," 
deserves  repetition.  The  dog  had  accompanied  the 
Professor  and  some  of  his  children  into  the  country 
one  afternoon  on  an  expedition  to  dig  for  antiquarian 

138 


HOME   LIFE 

relics.  "  After  tea  Puck,  seeing  every  one  carrying 
something  to  the  station,  demanded  the  honour  of 
relieving  his  master  of  a  Lancet^  and  went  off  with 
his  small  burden  looking  very  important.  ...  At  the 
station  the  dog  was  missing.  All  got  into  their  places 
but  Puck.  'I  will  follow  in  the  next  train,'  said 
the  Professor  ;  '  Puck  is  too  dear  a  little  friend  to 
lose.  .  .  .'  All  he  found  of  Puck  was  a  muddy 
Lancet^  and  the  last  that  had  been  seen  of  the  old  dog 
was  that  he  was  pushing  his  way  through  a  crowd  of 
idle  colliers,  where  it  was  supposed  his  energies  had 
been  so  engrossed  in  guarding  the  Lancet  that  he  had 
lost  sight  of  his  party.  .  .  .  His  master  stayed  there 
until  next  morning,  and  some  remembered  afterwards 
how  Puck's  loss  gave  them  another  evening's  talk  with 
one  they  loved,  though  he  broke  in  on  the  reminis- 
cences with  'I  wonder  where  little  Puck  is,'  or  'Is 
that  his  barkr"  No  Puck  came  to  demand  entrance, 
and  hope  of  his  return  was  given  up  after  three  days 
passing  without  news  of  him.  His  master  was  think- 
ing of  the  sorrowful  letter  he  would  have  to  write  to 
Puck's  companions  when  late  one  night,  as  he  paced 
wearily  up  and  down  the  room,  he  thought  he  heard  a 
faint  bark.  There  had  been  a  great  deal  of  listening 
of  late  for  the  little  dog's  bark  ;  but  it  seemed  vain  to 
think  of  Puck's  retracing  his  steps  through  an  un- 
known country  for  so  many  miles.  Still  the  Professor 
opened  the  door  and  called.  Up  the  area  steps  some- 
thing  did   limp    into   the   hall.     That    it    was    Puck 

139 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

seemed  doubtful  at  first,  for  he  was  quick  and  bright, 
and  this  animal  was  a  lame  ball  of  mud  hardly  able 
to  crawl.  The  bright  eyes,  however,  were  Puck's  ; 
and  he  confirmed  his  identity  by  exerting  his  remain- 
ing energies  to  give  one  leap  gratefully  to  kiss  the 
friendly  face  that  bent  over  him.  .  .  .  His  truant  play- 
fellows received  a  long  letter  from  their  father  telling 
them  of  Puck's  adventure  and  imagining  Puck's  feel- 
ings and  trials  through  his  long  wanderings.  .  .  . 
That  letter  always  recalls  Puck  and  his  never-resting 
master  bending  over  his  desk,  despite  press  of  business, 
to  send  the  news  to  Puck's  companions." 

Simpson  looked  no  further  than  his  own  nursery 
and  circle  of  close  friends  for  the  refreshment  and 
recreation  which  nature  demanded  in  the  course  of 
his  busy  daily  life.  But  holidays  were  necessary 
sometimes.  He  exhibited  all  the  aversion  of  an 
enthusiastically  busy  man  to  leaving  his  work,  but 
would  yield  sometimes  to  the  solicitations  of  fri'=;nds 
and  would  more  readily  leave  his  patients  for  a 
time  if  a  prospect  was  held  out  of  some  interesting 
archaeological  research  to  be  indulged  in.  In  1850  he 
suffered  from  an  abscess,  caused  by  blood-poisoning 
contracted  during  professional  work.  At  the  request 
of  his  friends  Professor  Syme  was  called  in,  somewhat 
to  the  chagrin  of  Simpson's  old  friend  and  colleague. 
Miller.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  spite  of  the 
recent  controversy  on  anaesthetics,  Montgomery  of 
Dublin,  who  had  keenly  opposed  him,  was  amongst 

140 


HOME    LIFE 

the  first  to  write  a  sympathetic  note  on  hearing  of  his 
illness  ;  although  dissenting  from  some  of  Simpson's 
professional  utterances,  Montgomery  was  influenced 
by  the  Professor's  personality  to  respect  him  as  a  man 
and  a  worker. 

After  this  illness  Simpson  took  a  rapid  run  round 
the  Continent,  visiting  those  cities  where  anything 
professional  was  to  be  picked  up.  As  he  expressed 
it  himself  he  "  scampered "  round  the  Universities, 
Museums,  and  Hospitals,  seeing  and  hearing  all  that 
was  to  be  seen  and  heard.  He  stowed  away  the 
newly  acquired  knowledge  in  the  recesses  of  his 
mighty  brain,  and  hastened  on  to  the  next  place  of 
interest  before  his  companions  had  gained  their  breath 
sufficiently  to  regard  with  intelligent  interest  the 
objects  he  had  already  left  behind.  In  Paris,  on 
the  occasion  of  one  of  his  flying  visits  into  a 
hospital,  he  w^as  present  at  an  operation,  unknown 
to  the  surgeon,  in  which  chloroform  was  used  not 
only  as  a  preventive  ot  pain,  but  also  for  its  remedial 
effect  ;  after  the  operation  the  surgeon  addressed 
his  students  upon  the  subject  of  chloroform,  and 
Simpson  had  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  a  hearty 
eulogy  of  it.  When,  at  the  end,  he  handed  in  his 
card,  the  operator's  delight  was  genuine  and  effusive, 
and  the  students  enthusiastically  appreciated  the  some- 
what dramatic  scene.  On  such  occasions  when  he 
had  to  submit  to  the  embraces  of  delighted  foreign 
scientists,  the  exuberant  manner  in  which  they  kissed 
141 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

him  was  not  to  his  liking  ;  even  the  remote  strain  of 
French  blood  in  his  own  veins  did  not  help  him  to 
enjoy  the  Continental  mode  of  salutation.  All  over 
Europe  his  name  was  honoured  and  revered.  It  is 
said  that  when  in  later  years  an  Edinburgh  citizen 
was  presented  at  the  Court  of  Denmark  the  King 
remarked,  "  You  come  from  Edinburgh  ?  Ah  !  Sir 
Simpson  was  of  Edinburgh  !  " 

The  last  trip  to  the  Continent,  indeed  his  last  real 
holiday,  was  taken  in  1868,  when  he  ran  over  to 
Rome.  So  public  was  the  life  he  led,  such  matters 
of  interest  to  his  fellow-countrymen  were  his  comings 
and  goings,  that  the  Scots?na?i  newspaper  chronicled 
his  doings,  relating  the  sights  and  places  of  interest 
which  he  visited,  and  noting  that  his  professional 
services  were  'taken  advantage  of  by  many  Roman 
citizens  during  the  few  days  that  he  was  there  ;  and 
that  if  time  had  permitted  a  public  reception  would 
have  been  given  to  him.  In  all  his  foreign  trips  his 
object  was  to  learn,  not  to  teach  ;  he  followed  Sir 
Isaac  Newton's  advice  to  Ashton,  and  let  his  discourse 
be  more  in  queries  than  in  assertions  or  disputings. 
He  took  care  neither  to  seem  much  wiser  nor  much 
more  ignorant  than  his  company. 

Sometimes  feeling  the  need  of  rest  himself  he  would 
take  one  or  perhaps  three  days  for  a  rapid  run  to  the 
Lakes,  or  would  spend  another  in  the  country  unearth- 
ing some  antiquarian  object.  It  was  always  a  pleasure 
to  him  to  visit  Bathgate,  where  his  uncle  and  friend 
142 


HOME   LIFE 

Alexander  had  latterly  resigned  the  baker's  business  and 
taken  up  the  role  of  banker.  One  of  his  favourite  resorts 
was  a  small  house  called  Viewbank  which  he  had  taken, 
situated  on  the  shores  of  the  Firth  of  Forth.  Here 
he  was  close  to  the  fishing  village  of  Newhaven  ;  the 
fisher  folks — the  men  and  the  picturesquely  attired 
"  fish-wives "  —  a  sturdy  and  original  set  of  people, 
were  a  great  interest  to  him.  They  knew  him 
well  both  as  an  occasional  visitor  and  as  the  good 
physician. 

One  of  his  letters  written  in  1856  gives  an  indication 
of  the  wide  area  over  which  his  services  were  requisi- 
tioned and  rendered. 

"  Sunday. 

"  I  write  this  at  Viewbank,  which  is  very  pretty 
this  afternoon,  but  where  I  have  not  been  for  a  week 
or  more.  This  year  I  have  not  yet  had  one  single 
holiday,  and  scarcely  expect  one  now.  I  have  had 
many  long  runs  during  the  past  few  months.  I  have 
been  often  up  in  England,  professionally,  during  the 
summer  ;  once  as  far  as  Brighton  seeing  a  consumptive 
case  ;  once  at  Scarboro'  where  my  wife  went  with 
me ;  once  or  twice  in  London  where  I  saw  the 
Queen  ;  once  at  Ambleside.  I  long  and  weary  for 
3.  real  ]a.unt  without  a  sick  patient  lying  at  the  end  of 
it.  And  I  had  a  great  fancy  to  run  from  Manchester 
to  Douglas  and  send  all  the  patients  far  enough  ;  I 
have  been  too  hard  worked  to  write,  but  I  must  write 
one  or  two   papers  now.     Queen  Street  has  been  a 

H3 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

little  hotel  during  the  summer — always  some  sick 
lady  or  another  sleeping  in  it,  sometimes  several  at 
night." 

Even  on  these  professional  journeys  he  found  time 
to  examine  objects  of  interest  in  the  neighbourhood  ; 
or  if  he  was  unable  to  leave  the  immediate  proximity 
of  his  patient,  he  brought  pen  and  paper  to  the 
bedside  and  worked  while  he  waited ;  thus  he 
economised  time  as  he  advised  his  students  always 
to  do.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  one  less  great  than 
Simpson  would  have  ever  been  allowed  to  labour  thus 
by  a  sufferer's  bedside  ;  indeed  even  he  was  not  always 
permitted  to  do  so.  It  is  recorded  that,  at  least,  one 
lady  rose  hastily  and  seized  his  pen  so  that  he  was 
obliged  to  desist. 

The  striking  form  with  which  Nature  had  endowed 
him,  became  more  remarkable  when  affected  by  years, 
work,  and  domestic  afflictions.  Though  of  medium 
height  his  presence,  even  beside  typically  large-built 
and  large-boned  fellow-countrymen,  was  never  in- 
significant. His  features,  overhung  by  his  massive 
forehead,  surrounded  by  the  long  and  thick  hair, 
spoke  his  character.  Firm,  concentrated  mouth 
and  piercing  eyes,  when  his  mind  was  fixed  on  a 
scientific  or  practical  object.  A  soft,  womanly  tender- 
ness about  the  lips,  and  a  genial,  sympathetic  emotion 
in  his  deep-set  eyes  when  aroused  by  an  object  of  pity 
or  pleasure.  His  hand  was  "  broad  and  powerful,  but 
the  fingers  were  pointed  and  specially  sensitive  of 
144 


HOME   LIFE 

touch."  To  see  him  was  to  see  one  of  the  sights  of 
the  modern  Athens.  His  features  are  famihar  to  us 
to-day  as  one  of  the  ring  of  briUiant,  intellectual  faces 
forming  a  frame  to  the  picture  of  Queen  Victoria 
in  this  the  year  of  her  Diamond  Jubilee — a  year  of 
triumphant  retrospection,  unprecedented  in  the  history 
of  nations. 

It  was  impossible  that  a  man  holding  Simpson's 
position,  engaged  in  his  work,  and  possessed  of 
distinct  fighting  characteristics,  should  not  make 
enemies.  He  could  say,  as  Jenner  said  before  him, 
"  As  for  fame,  what  is  it  ?  A  gilded  butt  for  ever 
pierced  by  the  arrows  of  malignancy.  The  name 
of  John  Hunter  stamps  this  observation  with  the 
signature  of  truth." 

The  arrows  of  malignancy  did  not  hurt  Simpson. 
He  was  very  little,  if  at  all,  affected  by  them  ;  but  he 
paid,  perhaps,  more  attention  to  them  than  we  might 
have  expected  him  to  pay  ;  certainly  more  than  they 
deserved.  His  love  of  the  fray  led  him  oftentimes 
to  answer  what  had  better  have  been  left  unnoticed, 
and  dragged  him  into  prolonged,  sometimes  bitter,  and, 
it  is  to  be  regretted,  often  unworthy,  controversies. 
There  was  so  much  valuable  work  to  be  done,  and 
his  efforts  were  always  so  fruitful  in  result  that  we 
grudge  the  time  spent  in  these  squabbles  ;  there  arises 
an  instinctive  feeling  that  had  he  devoted  the  energy 
wasted  in  these  contests  to  furthering  some  single 
branch    of    science,    he    would    have    made    distinct 

145  ^ 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

advances  therein.  There  was  nothing  superficial 
about  his  work  ;  whatever  the  object  it  was  tho- 
roughly entered  into  ;  his  writings  convey  to  one  a 
sense  of  the  power  he  had  of  seeing  all  round  and 
through  a  question,  and  of  weighing  and  judging 
evidence.  There  was  likewise  no  scamping  in  his 
mode  of  treating  his  opponents  in  these  squabbles  ; 
he  used  his  weapons  fearlessly  and  administered  m.any 
a  trouncing  to  weak  opponents. 

It  was  a  time  of  upheaval  in  things  medical.  The 
microscope  and  stethoscope  had  been  introduced  into 
the  science  and  practice  of  the  healing  art.  Scientific 
experiment  and  research  were  beginning  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  rational  medicine  and  surgery.  Edin- 
burgh was  in  the  front  rank  of  modern  progress,  as 
she  has  ever 'been.  Men  like  Simpson,  Syme,  Miller, 
Alison,  and  Christison,  were  not  likely  to  lag  behind. 
But,  unfortunately,  it  was  equally  unlikely  that  such 
great  minds  could  all  think  alike  in  matters  concern- 
ing the  principles  of  the  science  and  art  which  they 
taught  and  practised.  Thus  it  happened  that  the 
Edinburgh  School  became  notorious  for  its  internal 
quarrels,  and  in  these  Simpson  was,  as  a  rule,  to  be 
found  busy. 

Quite  apart  from  these  professional  differences  were 
the  disputes  arising  from  attacks  made  upon  Simpson 
by  professional  brethren  and  laymen,  who  accused 
him  of  wrong  treatment  or  neglect  of  patients.  His 
fame  endowed   him  with  almost  superhuman  powers 

146 


HOME   LIFE 

in  the  minds  of  patients  and  their  friends.  When  all 
other  means  had  failed  Simpson  was  hastened  to  as 
a  last  but  sure  resource  ;  bitter  the  disappointment, 
bitter  was  the  grief,  and  also  sometimes  bitter  the 
things  said  of  him  when  the  anxious  friends  of  a 
sufferer  found  that  even  Simpson's  powers  of  healing 
were  limited.  These  attacks  were  some  of  the 
"  arrows  of  malignancy,"  which  naturally  fell  about 
the  over-busy  man.  He  thought  it  necessary  to  stop, 
pick  up  these  arrows,  and  challenge  the  assailants  ; 
we  may  regret  that  he  stooped  so  often  to  this  action, 
but  v/e  feel  that  it  sprang  as  much  from  the  love  of 
truth  and  justice  as  from  the  dictates  of  a  disposition 
inclined  towards  quarrel. 

It  is  impossible  to  pass  over  the  great  controversy 
which  raged  in  Edinburgh  about  1850  on  the  merits 
of  homoeopathy,  in  which  Simpson,  of  course,  took  a 
leading  part.  About  the  beginning  of  the  century 
the  practice  of  medicine  by  the  apothecaries,  as  the 
general  practitioners  were  then  called,  consisted  in 
the  most  unscientific,  nay,  haphazard  administration 
of  drugs  in  large  quantities  and  combinations.  It 
was  an  age  of  drugging  doctors,  and  the  custom  had 
become  so  thoroughly  established  that  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  less  completely  opposite  system  than  that 
introduced  by  Hahnemann  would  have  convinced  the 
public  that  after  all  so  many  drugs  were  not  required, 
nor  such  large  quantities  of  them.  Homoeopathic 
practice  was  founded  on  facts  improperly  interpreted, 

147 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

and  laid  down  for  general  use  a  procedure  that  was 
applicable  in  only  a  limited  number  of  cases.  As  Dr. 
Lauder  Brunton  has  recently  pointed  out,  it  is  in  many 
instances  only  a  method  of  faith-cure,  and  as  such  has 
its  value.  The  success  which  its  practitioners  cer- 
tainly obtained  in  many  cases  where  the  ordinary 
wholesale  drugging  of  the  day  had  proved  futile,  at 
once  made  men  pause  ere  allowing  their  bodies  to 
be  made  receptacles  for  the  complicated  preparations 
of  the  physician.  In  Edinburgh  at  this  time  the 
influence  of  homoeopathy  had  been  felt.  Alison,  a 
physician  of  great  renown,  was  to  the  end  a  pro- 
nounced polypharmacist,  and  was  said  scarcely  ever 
to  leave  a  patient  without  a  new  bottle  or  prescrip- 
tion. Graham,  another  university  professor,  was  also 
a  thorough-going  old  school  therapeutist.  On  the 
other  hand,  Syme  treated  all  medicine  except  rhubarb 
and  soda  with  disdain  ;  and  Henderson,  the  professor 
of  Pathology,  and  also  a  practising  physician,  after 
professing  to  consider  no  medicine  of  very  much  value, 
became  a  pronounced  sceptic,  and  finally  horrified  his 
colleagues  by  making  trials  of  homoeopathy,  and 
gradually  becoming  enamoured  of  it  until  he  con- 
fessed himself  a  full  follower  of  Hahnemann's  doc- 
trines. Christison  was  leading  the  school  which 
urged  that  the  action  of  medicines  should  be  studied 
experimentally  if  their  administration  was  to  be 
founded  on  scientific  grounds.  The  behaviour  of 
Henderson,  who  so  greatly  owed  his  position  as  pro- 
148 


HOME   LIFE 

essor  to  Simpson,  stirred  the  wrath  of  the  latter.  He 
examined  and  condemned  the  irrational  system  of 
Hahnemann,  and  threw  himself  into  an  attitude  of 
strong  opposition.  Syme  and  Christison  ably  seconded 
him  in  strong  public  action.  Henderson  was  obliged 
to  resign  his  chair  owing  to  "  loss  of  health."  Homoeo- 
pathy was  thoroughly  crushed  in  Edinburgh.  The 
contest  between  the  old  system  of  drugging  with  large 
complicated  doses  of  powerful  remedies,  and  the  new 
one  of  giving  on  principle  infinitesimal  doses  of  the 
same  medicines,  served  a  good  purpose.  It  gave  an 
opportunity  for  establishing  rational  therapeutics,  a 
science  which  is  making  daily  progress,  and  in  the 
presence  of  which  neither  the  old  system  nor  homoeo- 
pathy can  stand. 

About  this  same  period  mesmerism  was  again 
coming  to  the  front,  this  time  cloaked  as  a  science 
termed  electro-biology.  Simpson  acknowledged  that 
there  was  a  great  deal  in  mesmerism  demanding 
scientific  investigation  ;  but  with  his  reasoning  powers 
he  could  not  realise  the  existence  of  the  mystically- 
termed  higher  phenomena  of  animal  magnetism,  e.g.^ 
lucidity,  transference  of  the  senses,  and,  above  all, 
clairvoyance.  It  happened  that  a  professional  mes- 
merist gave  a  performance  in  Edinburgh  ;  learning 
that  the  "  professor's  "  daughter  was  stated  to  be  able 
to  read  anything  written  on  paper,  or  to  divine 
any  object  enclosed  in  a  sealed  box  while  under  her 
father's  mesmeric  power,  Simpson  attended  the  per- 
149 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

formance.  He  took  with  him  a  specially-prepared 
test — a  sealed  box  with  certain  unknown  contents  ; 
this  he  presented  at  a  suitable  opportunity.  Against 
their  own  wishes,  but  on  the  insistence  of  the  audi- 
ence, the  performers  made  an  attempt  by  their 
methods  to  detect  the  nature  of  the  contents  of  this 
test-box.  They  pronounced  it  to  be  money  ;  on 
opening  it  millet  seed  was  found,  and  a  piece  of 
paper,  on  which  was  written,  "  humbug." 

An  accusation,  couched  in  bitter  terms,  that  Simpson 
was  really  a  supporter  of  mesmerism  as  it  was  then 
known,  was  published  in  one  of  the  leading  profes- 
sional journals  in  London.  He  indignantly  repudiated 
the  suggestion  and  proposed  to  settle  the  matter 
finally  by  a  simple  expedient.  He  offered  to  place  five 
sealed  boxes  each  containing  a  line  from  Shakspeare 
written  by  himself  on  paper,  in  the  hands  of  the  editor 
of  the  journal  who  had  permitted  the  attack  to  appear 
in  his  columns.  To  any  clairvoyant  who  read  these 
lines  according  to  the  professed  method,  and  to  the 
satisfaction  of  a  committee  of  eminent  medical  men, 
he  promised  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds.  The 
offer,  however,  was  not  accepted. 

The  brilliant  attainments  of  many  of  its  teachers  at 
this  period  not  only  placed  the  Edinburgh  school  at 
the  head  of  the  British  schools  of  medicine,  but 
also  led  to  tempting  offers  being  made  to  individual 
professors  by  rival  schools  anxious  to  secure  their 
services. 

150 


HOME    LIFE 

London  was  a  much  more  lucrative  field  for  prac- 
tice than  the  Scots  metropolis,  and  several  of  the  most 
eminent  Edinburgh  men  had  from  time  to  time 
yielded  to  the  temptation  to  migrate  southwards.  In- 
deed, London  as  a  medical  school  owes  a  great  deal  to 
the  Scotsmen  whom  she  imported.  Liston  had  left 
for  London  in  1834,  and  Syme  followed,  for  a  brief 
period,  on  Liston's  death.  In  1848  a  strong  effort  was 
made  to  secure  Simpson  as  a  lecturer  on  midwifery  at 
St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital ;  without  any  hesitation 
he  decided  to  remain  in  the  city  where  he  had  fought 
his  way  to  fame,  and  where  he  enjoyed  popularity, 
and  a  practice  sufficiently  lucrative  to  satisfy  the  most 
ambitious  man.  Every  patriotic  Scot  applauded  the 
decision. 

During  these  years  of  fame  and  prosperity  Simpson 
concerned  himself  in  schemes  for  the  improvement  of 
the  surroundings  of  the  working  classes,  and  helped 
with  speech  and  purse  those  who  worked  among  the 
poor.  He  strongly  supported  the  establishment  of 
improved  dwellings  for  workpeople^  and  gave  much 
attention  to  the  subject  of  Cottage  Hospitals.  He  did 
not  neglect  the  poor  amongst  whom  he  had  laboured 
in  his  early  days.  He  loved  old  Edinburgh,  and  the 
poor  inhabitants  of  it  were  near  his  heart.  "The 
Professor  "  v/as  known  in  many  a  ",wynd"  and  "stair," 
where  his  services  were  rendered  willingly  and  without 
reward. 


151 


CHAPTER   IX 
Archaeology — Practice 

His  versatility — The  Lyciiim  of  the  Muses — The  Cat-stane — Was  the 
Roman  Army  provided  with  medical  officers  ? — Weems — His  lack 
of  business  method — Fees  and  no  fees — Generosity  often  imposed 
upon — His  unusual  method  of  conducting  private  practice — The 
ten-pound  note — Simpson  and  the  hotel  proprietors. 

PROFESSOR  SIMPSON'S  versatility  was  re- 
markable. He  turned  from  one  subject  to 
another  and  displayed  a  mastery  over  each  ;  it  was 
not  merely  the  knowledge  of  principles  which  aston- 
ished but  the  intimate  familiarity  with  details.  He 
was  able  to  discuss  almost  any  subject  in  literature, 
science,  politics,  or  theology  with  its  leading  exponent 
on  equal  terms.  He  had  the  power  of  patient  listen- 
ing as  well  as  the  gift  of  speech  ;  more  than  that  he 
had  the  ability  to  charm  speech  from  others,  of  making 
each  man  reveal  his  inmost  thoughts,  betray  his  most 
cherished  theories,  or  narrate  his  most  stirring  ex- 
periences ;    the  most  reticent  man  would  not  realise 

152 


ARCHi¥.OLOGY— PRACTICE 

until  he  had  left  Simpson's  presence,  that  in  a  brief 
interview,  perhaps  the  first,  he  had  told  his  greatest 
adventures,  or  laid  bare  his  wildest  aspirations  before 
this  student  of   mankind   who   was    summarising    his 
life  and   character  as   he   spoke.      Simpson    built    up 
his  knowledge   not   so   much  from   books   as  by  the 
exercise  of  his  highly  developed  faculty  of  observation 
aided  by  his  memory.      He  enjoyed   the  study  of  his 
fellow -men  and  extracted  all  that  was  worth  knowing 
from   those  with  whom  he   came    into  contact.     He 
never   undertook   work   without   a  definite   object  in 
view,  and  rarely  abandoned  his  task  before  that  object 
was  accomplished.     Quite  small  researches  would  lead 
to  considerable  and  unexpected  labour.     He  preserved 
his  scientific  method,  his  desire  to  appeal  only  to  the 
evidence  of  facts — not  to  other  men's  fancies — through 
his  archaeological  work  as  well  as  in  more  professional 
lines  of  study.     He  laboured  long  and  carefully  over 
such  an  object  as  the  study  of  old  skulls  dug  up  in 
antiquarian    excursions  ;    setting    before    himself  the 
object  of  finding  out  by  the  condition  and  wear  of  the 
teeth  what  kind  of  food  had  been  consumed  by  the 
owners,  probably  primeval  inhabitants  of  some  district. 
He  impressed  his  methods  upon  those  who  worked  for 
him    or    with    him.      We    find    him    writing    to    his 
nephev/,  who  was  about  to  visit  Egypt,  telling  him 
when  there  to  gather  information  as  to  the  suitability 
of  the  country  for  invalids,  and  directing  him  how  to 
employ  his  leisure  in  furthering  this  object.     He  was 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

to  study  German  on  the  voyage  thither,  and  to  take 
with  him  as  models  Clarke's  book  on  CHmate  and 
Mitchell's  on  Algiers,  and  any  French  or  German 
books  on  the  subject  he  might  hear  of.  He  would 
require  to  collect  ( i )  The  average  daily  temperature  ; 
(2)  The  hygrometric  and  barometric  states  daily  ;  (3) 
The  temperature  of  the  Nile  ;  (4)  The  temperature 
of  any  mineral  springs  ;  (5)  The  general  character  of 
the  geology  ;  (6)  The  general  character  of  the  botany 
of  the  country.  He  asked  him  to  inquire  specially  as 
to  the  effect  of  the  climate  on  consumption,  and 
pointed  out  that  Pliny  described  Egypt  seventeen 
centuries  ago  as  the  best  climate  for  phthisical  patients. 
For  amusement  he  was  to  take  some  good  general 
book  on  Egypt  and  Egyptian  hieroglyphics.  The 
serious  study  of  a  succession  of  inquirers  was  to  be 
the  young  man's  holiday  amusement  ! 

Simpson's  most  notable  contributions  to  archaeology 
were  made  when  his  time  was  most  occupied  profes- 
sionally. The  researches  on  Leprosy  were  first  enlarged 
and  improved.  In  1852,  when  in  the  British  Museum, 
his  eye  was  attracted  by  a  small  leaden  vase  bearing 
a  Greek  inscription  signifying  the  Lycium  of  the 
Muses,  By  a  painstaking  inquiry  he  established  that 
this  lycium  was  the  Lykion  indikoii  of  Dioscorides,  a 
drug  used  by  ancient  Greeks  as  an  application  to  the 
eyes  in  various  kinds  of  ophthalmia.  It  was  obtained 
from  India,  and  is  still  used  for  these  purposes  in  that 
country.      He  discovered  that  there  were  three  other 


ARCHiEOLOGY— PRACTICE 

examples  of  this  ancient  receptable  for  the  valued  eye- 
medicine  in  modern  museums. 

He  had  correspondents  in  different  parts  of  Scotland 
engaged  in  making  researches  into  antiquities,  which 
he  encouraged  and  directed.  Among  such  were  in- 
quiries into  the  whereabouts  of  a  church  said  to 
possess  holy  earth  brought  from  Rome  ;  and  a  hunt 
for  ancient  cupping-vessels.  The  work  on  the  Cat- 
stane  of  Kirkliston  was  elaborate,  and  a  perfect  example 
of  his  method.  Probably  this  stone,  a  massive  un- 
hewn block  of  greenstone-trap,  had  been  a  familiar 
object  to  him  in  his  youth,  for  it  lay  alone  in  a  field 
close  to  the  Linlithgow  road.  In  his  monograph  he 
endeavoured  to  show  by  close  reasoning,  with  pro- 
fuse references  to  forgotten  authorities  and  ancient 
history,  that  the  stone  was  the  tomb  of  one  Vetta,  the 
grandfather  of  Hengist  and  Horsa.  His  argument 
ran  as  follows  :  The  surname  Vetta,  which  figured  on 
the  inscription  carved  upon  the  stone,  was  the  name  of 
the  grandfather  of  Hengist  and  Horsa,  as  given  by  the 
oldest  genealogists,  who  described  him  as  the  son  of 
Victa.  The  inscription  ran  thus  :  VETTA  F(ilius) 
VICTI.  Vetta  was  an  uncommon  Saxon  name,  and 
no  other  Vetta,  son  of  Victa,  was  known  in  history. 
Two  generations  before  Hengist  and  Horsa  arrived  in 
England  a  Saxon  host  was  leagued  with  the  Picts, 
Scots,  and  Attacots  in  fighting  a  Roman  army,  and 
these  Saxons  were  probably  commanded  by  an  ancestor 
of  Hengist  and  Horsa.     The  battlefield  was  situated 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

between  the  two  Roman  walls,  and  consequently 
included  the  tract  where  the  stone  is  now  placed. 
The  palaeographic  characters  of  the  inscription  indicated 
that  it  was  carved  about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century. 
Latin  (with  a  very  few  exceptions  in  Greek)  was  the 
only  language  known  to  have  been  used  at  that  time 
by  Romanised  Britons  and  foreign  conquerors  for  the 
purpose  of  inscriptions.  The  occasional  erection  of 
monuments  to  Saxon  leaders  is  proved  by  the  fact 
mentioned  by  Bede  that  in  his  time,  the  eighth 
century,  there  stood  in  Kent  a  monument  com- 
memorating the  death  of  Horsa.  In  1659  a  writer 
had  described  this  tomb  of  Horsa  as  havins;  been 
destroyed  by  "storms  and  tempests  under  the  con- 
duct of  time." 

In  1 86 1  Simpson  was  president  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  and  delivered  an  address  on 
the  past  and  present  work  of  archaeology  v/hich  greatly 
stimulated  antiquarian  study  in  his  country.  Amongst 
the  honours  which  his  antiquarian  achievements  brought 
upon  him  was  that  of  being  appointed  Professor  of 
Antiquities  to  the  Royal  Academy  of  Scotland  ;  he 
was  also  elected  a  member  of  the  Archaeological 
Societies  of  Athens,  Nassau,  and  Copenhagen. 

He  make  researches  into  the  subjects  of  lake 
dwellings,  primeval  pottery,  and  burial  urns.  One 
of  his  most  valuable  writings  was  upon  the  subject, 
"  Was  the  Roman  Army  provided  with  Medical 
Officers  ?  "     He  answered  the  question  in  the  affirma- 

.56 


ARCHAEOLOGY— PRACTICE 

tive  after  a  laborious  hunt  amongst  votive  and  mortuary- 
tablets  ;  no  Roman  historians  had  left  clear  indications 
of  the  existence  of  any  army  medical  department.  He 
found  that  several  tablets  were  preserved  bearing 
inscriptions  referring  to  army  surgeons,  which 
suggested  that  although  they  were  all  known  as 
fnedicus  there  were  degrees  of  rank  amongst  them, 
notably  the  medlcus  legionis  and  the  rnedicus  cohortis. 
There  is  a  well-preserved  tablet  in  the  Newcastle 
Museum  found  in  that  neighbourhood,  commemo- 
rating a  surgeon  of  the  first  Tungrian  cohort,  and 
one  in  Dresden,  referring  to  a  inedicus  dupUcatorlus^  a 
term  which  indicates  that  the  surgeon  had  been 
fortunate  enough  by  his  attainments  to  merit,  and, 
we  hope,  receive  double  fees  for  his  services. 

All  his  antiquarian  study  was  looked  upon  by 
Simpson  himself  as  no  more  than  a  relaxation. 
Fatigued  by  days  and  nights  of  anxious  consecu- 
tive professional  work,  he  would  suddenly  dash  off 
for  a  day  into  some  part  of  the  country  where  he 
knew  there  was  a  likely  "find,"  leaving  patients 
and  students  to  the  care  of  his  assistants.  Here  he 
would  press  into  service  and  infect  with  his  spirit 
all  sorts  of  local  worthies  from  the  squire  or  laird 
down  to  the  labourer,  who  woke  up  at  his  stimu- 
lation to  find  that  what  had  been  of  no  concern 
to  them  and  their  fathers  before  them — perhaps 
objects  of  vituperation  or  superstitious  dread — were 
objects   of    keen    delight    and    interest,    and    actually 

157 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

valuable  to  this  astonishing  man.  Once  on  a  pro- 
fessional visit  to  Fifeshire  he  quite  casually  discovered 
some  remarkable  though  rough  carvings  in  caves, 
representing  various  animals  and  curious  emblems, 
and  he  was  able  to  show  that  they  presented  features 
hitherto  unnoticed.  Fifeshire  was  famous  for  its 
underground  dwellings,  or,  as  they  are  locally  called, 
"weems" — a  term  which  gave  origin  to  the  title 
of  the  Earldom  of  Wemyss.  After  such  an  excur- 
sion he  would  return  to  Queen  Street  full  of  boyish 
spirits,  eager  to  narrate  his  discoveries  to  interested 
friends,  and  refreshed  ready  to  resume  the  daily  round 
of  work.  Archaeology  was  his  hobby — the  hobby  on 
which  he  rode  away  for  refreshment  and  relief  from 
the  monotony  of  his  life's  work  ;  not  only  did  the 
hobby  consta'ntly  restore  his  flagging  energies,  but  as 
it  is  given  to  few  men  to  do,  he  put  new  life  into  his 
hobby  whenever  he  bestrode  it. 

In  the  conduct  of  his  practice  he  was  somewhat 
negligent.  He  was  one  of  the  old  school  in  these 
matters  ;  he  trusted  his  head  rather  than  paper,  and 
his  head  had  had  such  a  careful  self-imposed  training 
since  childhood  that  it  was  a  good  servant.  But 
where  the  brain  has  such  enormous  duties  to  perform, 
those  which  appear  to  it  unimportant  must  of  necessity 
be  comparatively  neglected. 

Had  he  been  more  careful  of  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence,  he  would  have  been  more  attentive  to  the 
details    of  practice.     To    Simpson,   provided    he   liad 

158 


ARCHEOLOGY— PRACTICE 

sufficient  money  for  all  his  wants — and  his  wants 
were  wide,  for  they  included  those  of  many  others 
— pecuniary  and  business  matters  were  of  secondary 
consideration.  In  his  student  days  he  had  lived 
carefully,  accounting,  as  has  been  seen,  for  every 
trivial  expenditure  to  those  to  whom  he  was  indebted. 
But  now  he  was  free  from  the  harassing  necessity 
of  exercising  rigid  economy,  he  cast  aside  the 
drudgery  of  business  methods  and  disdained  com- 
mercial considerations.  He  certainly  received  some 
very  large  fees,  but  the  curious  mixture  of  human 
beings  who  crowded  his  waiting-rooms  were  treated 
a.11  alike  whether  they  paid  princely  fees  or  no  fee  at 
all  ;  lots  were  drawn  daily  for  precedence,  and  they 
entered  his  presence  according  as  they  drew.  His 
valet  seems  to  have  attained  considerable  skill  in 
estimating  the  probable  remunerative  value  of  a 
roomful  of  waiting  patients,  and  would  grumble  at 
night  if  on  emptying  tne  professor's  pockets,  as  was 
his  duty,  the  result  fell  short  of  his  calculated  antici- 
pations. The  man  did  not  approve  of  the  master's 
habit  of  giving  gratuitous  service.  There  were  many 
who  were  never  asked  for  a  fee,  and  many  others 
whose  proiFered  guineas  were  refused.  Simpson  would 
not  ask  for  money  from  those  to  whom  he  thought  it 
was  a  struggle  to  pay  him  ;  the  magnitude  of  his 
profit-yielding  practice  rendered  this  form  of  charity 
possible  for  him  ;  from  the  really  poor  he  always 
refused  remuneration.     His  house  was  filled  with  all 

^59 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

sorts  of  presents  from  patients,  grateful  for  benefit 
conferred,  grateful  for  generosity  and  consideration. 
He  was  also  a  free  giver,  and  besides  supporting 
orthodox  charities  made  many  gifts  of  goodly  sums  to 
persons  who  appeared  to  him  to  be  in  want,  or  who 
succeeded  in  impressing  on  him  their  need  for  help. 
He  was  imposed  upon  often  enough  ;  not  seldom  by 
pseudo-scientists  full  of  some  great  discovery  which  a 
little  more  capital  might  enable  them  to  complete. 
Once  he  corresponded  with  an  enthusiast  of  this 
description  who  confessed  that  he  had  been  break- 
fasting on  a  waistcoat,  dining  on  a  shirt,  and  supping 
on  a  pair  of  tough  old  leather  boots,  with  the  object 
of  finding  a  solid  substance,  which  combined  with 
lead  or  tin  would  form  gold — nothing  more  or  less 
than  the  time-honoured  philosopher's  stone  !  To  such 
a  man  Simpson  gave  freely  not  only  once. 

To  young  students  entering  upon  professional  life 
with  no  other  capital  than  their  newly  acquired 
qualifications  to  practice,  he  was  ever  generous.  The 
Scots  Universities  sent  forth  many  such  youths,  sturdy 
and  independent,  and  with  feelings  that  would  be 
easily  wounded  by  any  attempt  to  patronise.  But  his 
gentleness,  and  the  sympathy  born  of  his  own  early 
experiences  and  shining  in  his  eyes,  made  help  from 
him  something   to  be  proud  of. 

It  could  never  be  urged  against  Simpson  that  he 
was  avaricious.  Just  as  when  honours  were  showered 
upon    him  he    accepted    them  with    less    thought    of 

i6o 


ARCHEOLOGY— PRACTICE 

the  personal  honour  than  of  the  appreciation  of  his 
friends  and  the  public,  and  rejoiced  that  they  were 
pleased  ;  so  he  rejoiced  in  the  acquisition  of  ample 
means  chiefly  because  of  the  pleasure  he  might  derive 
therefrom  by  helping  others. 

His  method  of  seeing  patients  was  boldly  haphazard  ; 
we  learn  with  astonishment  that  he  kept  no  list  of  his 
visits  to  be  made,  and  started  a  day's  round  with  only 
his  prodigious  memory  to  guide  him  as  to  where  he 
should  go.  Such  a  method  must  have  had  the  result 
that  only  cases  of  interest  or  urgency  were  seen. 
No  doubt  the  able  staff  of  assistants  attended  to  the 
others,  but  these  comprised  not  only  sufferers  from 
trivial  complaints  but  those  afflicted  with  imaginary 
ills  who  had  come  to  see  Simpson,  not  his  assistant. 
Possibly  they  had  already  suffered  many  things  of 
many  physicians  and  were  none  the  better.  Such 
persons  blamed  Simpson  with  some  reason.  In  the 
case  of  neurotic  persons  only  was  his  method  not 
reprehensible  ;  continued  attendance  might  have 
undone  the  benefit  of  the  one  application,  if  we 
may  so  term  it,  of  his  strong  personality,  which 
sometimes  was  all  that  was  required,  so  superstitious 
was  the  reverence  for  his  powers.  A  precise  system 
of  registration  of  engagements  and  visits  ought  cer- 
tainly to  have  been  adopted.  We  can  sympathise  with 
those  who  felt  aggrieved  that  they  could  not  obtain 
more  attention  from  the  great  man,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  by  his  own  method  he  saw  a  great 

l6l  M 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

number  of  difficult  and  dangerous  cases,  and  was  able 
to  originate  out  of  his  wide  and  unprecedented  experi- 
ence, modes  of  treatment  which  are  to-day  valued 
highly  and  successfully  made  use  of  by  his  professional 
successors.  He  never  wittingly  left  a  fellow-creature's 
life  in  danger,  but  would  hasten  at  all  hours  to  cases 
of  real  urgency. 

As  is  usual  where  large  numbers  are  striving  after 
the  same  object  some  were  highly  careless  in  their 
communications  with  him.  Fees  were  sent  to  him 
with  a  request  for  a  receipt,  but  no  address  was  given. 
Engagements  were  asked  for  by  persons  who  neglected 
to  say  at  what  hotel  they  were  staying ;  and  others 
worried  him  for  letters  on  quite  trivial  subjects.  On 
one  occasion,  it  is  authentically  related,  a  ten-pound 
note  was  forwarded  to  him  by  a  man  who  might  more 
reasonably  have  paid  one  hundred  pounds.  The  note 
was  somewhat  carelessly  not  acknowledged,  and  the 
sender  kept  writing  letters  demanding  an  answer  in 
increasing  severity  of  tone.  But  he  was  left  to  rage 
in  vain.  A  few  nights  later  Simpson's  sleep  was 
disturbed  by  a  rattling  window  ;  in  the  dark  he  rose 
and  groped  for  a  piece  of  paper  wherewith  to  stufF  the 
chink  and  stop  the  irritating  noise.  His  only  com- 
ment next  morning  when  his  wife,  having  removed 
the  paper  and  discovered  its  nature  came  to  him  with 
it,  was,  "  Oh  !  it's  that  ten  pounds  !  " 

There  was  a  great  want  of  method  in  all  his 
arrangements,  and  Dr.  Duns  confesses  to  having  had 

162 


ARCHAEOLOGY— PRACTICE 

considerable   difficulty   in   arranging  Simpson's  letters 
and  papers,  so  carelessly  were  they  kept. 

The  leading  hotels  in  the  city  benefited  by  Simpson's 
reputation.  Patients  and  pilgrims  filled  their  rooms 
long  before  tourists  began  to  crowd  Scotland  as  they 
do  to-day.  When  Simpson  was  elected  to  the  Chair  of 
Midwifery  loud  complaints  were  uttered  by  the  hotel 
proprietors.  His  predecessor,  Professor  Hamilton,  had 
been  a  man  of  such  wide  reputation  that  they  derived 
much  profit  from  the  patients  sent  in  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  to  be  attended  by  him.  Hov/ 
could  a  young  man  like  Simpson  equal  this  ?  And 
yet  when  he  died  there  was  more  than  one  hotel 
proprietor  who  could  attribute  no  small  measure  of 
his  own  success  to  the  patients  and  visitors  who 
crowded  not  only  from  the  country  districts  of 
Scotland  but  from  the  most  remote  parts  of  the 
British  Empire,  as  well  as  from  the  great  cities 
of  Europe  and  America,  to  gain  help  or  speech  from 
or  perhaps  only  to  see  this  same  Simpson.  And  his 
fame  had  reached  the  high  point  it  ever  after  main- 
tained when  he  was  but  a  young  man — before  he  was 
forty  years  of  age.  It  was  estimated  that  no  less  than 
eighty  thousand  pounds  per  annum  was  lost  to  the 
hotel,  lodging,  and  boarding-house  keepers  of  Edin- 
burgh when  he  died. 


163 


CHAPTER  X 

PERSONAL PROFESSORIAL — PROFESSIONAL 

His  genius  —  Fertility  of  resource  —  Personal  influence  —  Work  in 
obstetrics  and  gynaecology  and  surgery — His  lecturing  and  teaching 
— The  healing  of  wounds — Acupressure — Hospitalism — Proposal 
to  stamp  out  infectious  diseases. 

PROFESSOR  A.  R.  SIMPSON  has  said  that  his 
uncle' Sir  James  Simpson's  genius  showed  itself 
in  his  power  of  seeing  things,  in  his  power  of  adapting 
means  to  ends,  and  in  his  power  of  making  others  see 
what  he  had  seen  and  do  what  he  had  done.  We 
have  seen  these  characteristics  displayed  in  his  work 
upon  anaesthesia  ;  it  is  literally  true  that  he  left  no 
stone  unturned  to  gain  his  end  and  to  make  others 
look  upon  anaesthesia  in  the  same  light  as  he  regarded 
it.  He  declared  all  the  while  that  if  he  found  the 
opposition  to  the  administration  of  chloroform  in 
midwifery  practice  too  powerful  to  conquer  alone,  he 
would  finally  overcome  it  by  bringing  about  such  a 
state  of  public  opinion  on  the  subject  as  would  compel 
the  profession  to  adopt  his  methods. 

164 


PERSONAL,  ETC. 

Whether  we  regard  Simpson  as  a  physician  or  as  a 
surgeon,  as  a  gynaecologist  or  as  an  accoucheur,  we 
find  that  his  success  was  always  due  to  the  same 
causes.  He  possessed  no  secret  remedies  such  as  an 
ignorant  and  imaginative  section  of  the  public  often 
credit  to  successful  medical  men.  He  performed  no 
operations  with  which  other  surgeons  were  not 
equally  familiar  and  equally  capable  of  performing  ; 
indeed  he  frequently  sent  his  surgical  cases  to  operators 
in  whose  hands  he  considered  they  would  be  more 
skilfully  treated  than  in  his.  In  obstetrics  and 
gynaecology  his  skill  arose  not  only  from  his  unrivalled 
experience,  but  also  from  his  power  of  rapid  diagnosis, 
and  his  promptness  and  boldness  in  treatment. 

His  readiness  in  resource  was  unfailing.  On 
one  occasion,  it  is  related,  during  an  operation  the 
bottle  of  chloroform  was  knocked  over  and  its  contents 
were  spilled  upon  the  carpet  before  the  surgeon  had 
completed  his  work  ;  whilst  his  colleagues  were 
wondering  what  was  to  be  done  or  how  a  further 
supply  of  the  anaesthetic  could  be  obtained  with 
sufficient  speed,  Simpson  was  on  his  knees  hacking 
out  with  his  knife  the  portion  of  carpet  on  which 
the  chloroform  had  just  fallen  ;  and  by  means  of 
this  extemporised  inhaler  the  operation  proceeded 
uninterrupted  to  the  end. 

He  carried  his  distinguishing  energy  and  thorough- 
ness into  every  branch  of  his  work ;  even  in  extempore 
speeches  made  at  meetings  of  professional  societies,  he 

165 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

placed  facts  before  his  listeners  in  so  convincing  and 
lucid  a  manner  out  of  the  extensive  variety  of  his 
knowledge,  and  aided  by  his  great  memory,  that  if  he 
did  not  in  reality  gain  the  point  he  argued  in  favour 
of  he  generally  appeared  to  do  so.  On  such  occasions 
too  his  imperturbable  temper  was  a  valuable  weapon. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  genial  professor  availed 
himself  fully  of  the  unbounded  confidence  placed  in 
him  by  his  patients.  Those  of  us  who  did  not  know 
him  cannot  appreciate  what  we  have  already  said,  that 
the  charm  of  his  personality  was  one  of  the  greatest 
factors  of  his  success  in  practice,  and  of  his  social 
success  ;  there  is  the  risk  of  the  appearance  of 
exaggeration  in  any  description  of  this  personal 
influence.  The  sympathy  of  his  heart,  a  real  sym- 
pathy, not '  a  thin  professional  veneer,  was  made 
manifest  by  deed  as  well  as  word.  It  aroused  in 
his  patient,  quite  unconsciously  to  both,  a  feeling 
that  this  man,  above  all  other  men,  understood  his 
complaint  ;  that  he,  the  sufferer  was  the  chief,  if  not 
the  only  object  of  his  thought  and  care.  It  was  said 
over  and  over  again  of  him  that  his  words  and  look 
did  more  good  than  all  his  physic,  so  able  a  wielder 
was  he  of  that  healing  power  which  reaches  the 
body  through  the  mind.  Those  who  knew  him  not, 
but  falling  sick  hastened  to  Edinburgh  to  be  healed 
by  him,  were  oftentimes  cured  simply  because  they 
felt  beforehand  that  he  would  cure  them.  They 
followed  unconsciously  the  ancient  command  of  the 
1 66 


PERSONAL,  ETC. 

Talmud,  where  it  says,  "  Honour  your  physician 
before  you  have  need  of  him,"  and  went  to  him  full 
of  respect  and  fired  by  faith.  Wise  men  have  striven 
through  all  ages  to  take  advantage  of  this  influence  of 
the  mind  over  the  body,  and  the  necessity  of  possessing 
a  healthy  mind  if  the  body  is  also  to  be  healthy.  A 
striking  proof  of  the  antiquity  of  the  thought  has 
been  recently  furnished  in  a  fashion  that  would  have 
delighted  Simpson.  On  a  papyrus,  dated  a.d.  200, 
brought  to  light  by  Egyptian  explorers,  it  is  written 
that  Christ  said  :  "  A  prophet  is  not  acceptable  in  his 
own  country,  neither  doth  a  physician  work  cures 
upon  them  that  know  him." 

The  advances  which  Simpson  made  in  the  science 
and  practice  of  both  midwifery  and  gynaecology  w^ere 
due  to  the  magnitude  of  his  experience  and  the 
readiness  of  his  genius  to  profit  by  experience.  His 
one  thought  being  the  relief  of  suffering  and  the 
prolongation  of  life,  he  approached  the  bedside  as 
a  man  with  less  high  aspirations  would  fail  to  do. 
He  considered  only  the  patient's  interest,  and  gave 
his  genius  free  play.  He  took  midwifery  and  gynaeco- 
logy by  storm,  and  urged  them  on  to  great  developments  ; 
he  believed  in  observing,  helping,  or  imitating  nature 
rather  than  acting,  as  his  predecessors  had  done,  upon 
preconceived  ideas  which  oftener  than  not  ran  con- 
trary to  nature's  commands.  He  avoided  meddlesome- 
ness, and  stepped  in  only  as  the  ally  of  nature.  He 
took  numerous  hints  from   bygone   practitioners  and 

167 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

writers,  and  developed  them.  To-day  we  are  profiting 
by  his  teaching,  and  the  instruments  which  he  devised 
or  perfected. 

To  mention  all  his  suggestions  and  all  his  contribu- 
tions to  the  arts  which  he  specially  practised  would 
here  be  obviously  impossible  as  well  as  out  of  place  ; 
but  to  medical  readers  the  mention  of  one  instrument 
associated  with  his  name,  and  known  as  the  sound^  will 
give  a  small  indication  of  how  much  we  are  in  his 
debt.  The  principle  of  this  instrument  had  been 
known  long  before  he  took  it  in  hand,  but  it  was  left 
for  him  to  introduce  it  into  practice,  perfect  it,  and 
preach  its  value  in  diagnosis  and  treatment.  So 
thorough  was  his  work,  so  farseeing  his  science,  that 
our  knowledge  of  its  utility  has  scarcely  been  added 
to  since  he -first  drew  attention  to  it  in   1843. 

Towards  operative  work  his  attitude  was  character- 
istically conscientious.  We  are  told  that  he  habitually 
put  the  following  question  to  himself  when  contem- 
plating a  serious  operation  :  "  Am  I  conscientiously 
entitled  to  inflict  deliberately  upon  my  fellow-creature 
with  my  own  hands  the  imminent  and  immediate 
chance  of  death  for  the  problematic  and  prospective 
chance  of  his  future  improved  health  and  prolonged 
life  ? "  The  fact  that  he  habitually  thus  questioned 
himself  is  an  evidence  of  the  state  of  surgery  at  that 
time.  Operations  were  undertaken  only  as  a  last 
resource  to  save  life  ;  the  surgeon  knew  full  well  that 
he  placed  his  patient  in  further  peril  merely  by  cutting 
168 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

through  the  skin,  in  a  manner  which  has  now  happily 
become  a  thing  of  the  past. 

His  work  was  so  pre-eminently  practical  that  he 
never  stopped  to  collect  together  his  experiences 
into  a  scientific  treatise.  Although  he  revivified 
midwifery,  and  was  one  of  the  original  founders 
of  gynaecology,  he  left  to  aftercomers  the  labour  of 
studying  what  he  had  done,  and  drawing  the  conclu- 
sions on  which  to  strengthen  the  fabric  of  the  science. 
His  pamphlets,  papers,  and  reports  are  very  numerous. 
It  would  be  wrong  to  say  that  modern  thought  has 
approved  all  that  he  wrote  ;  but  however  much  time 
and  increased  knowledge  may  have  modified  his  teach- 
ing, they  have  not  detracted  from  the  value  of  his 
researches,  discoveries,  and  suggestions,  or  from  the 
stimulating  influence  of  his  work  upon  contemporary 
practice  and  thought. 

As  a  lecturer  and  teacher  Simpson  succeeded  as  in 
the  other  branches  of  his  work.  His  brilliant  exposition 
of  his  subjects  and  his  careful  practical  manner  of 
teaching  his  young  listeners  doubled  the  fame  which 
had  begun  with  his  predecessor,  Professor  Hamilton, 
and  has  ever  since  belonged  to  the  Edinburgh  school 
of  obstetricians.  But  here  again  his  personal  attrac- 
tiveness and  power  gained  for  him  the  greater  part 
of  his  success.  In  the  words  of  the  Lancet^  written 
when  reviewing  a  posthumous  collection  of  some  ot 
his  writings,  his  lectures  used  to  brighten  the  gloomy 
days  of    the    Edinburgh    winter  ;    in    perusing    the 

.69 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

publication  under  review,  Edinburgh  men  would 
"  almost  think  they  saw  the  big  head  and  face  of  the 
great  obstetrician,  as  they  used  to  see  him  beaming 
with  satisfaction  or  twinkling  with  genial  humour  as 
he  told  a  good  story,  or  related  a  happy  case,  illustrative 
of  his  own  bold  and  original  practice."  Both  as  a 
lecturer  and  as  a  bedside  teacher  he  captured  his 
students  by  the  charm  of  his  diction,  the  wide  range 
of  his  knov/ledge,  and  as  Professor  Gusserow  has 
pointed  out  in  his  masterly  memoir,  by  his  peculiar 
talent  of  having  his  knowledge  at  his  fingers'  ends, 
and  that  often  in  very  remote  details. 

Year  by  year  he  never  failed  to  obtain  the  affection 
of  his  students  ;  scarcely  a  man  that  had  been  taught 
by  him  but  would  proudly  boast  that  he  was  his 
friend  as  well- as  his  teacher.  He  treated  his  large 
class  in  a  confiding  spirit — not  as  the  superior  person 
delivering  ex  cathedra  utterances,  but  as  the  friend 
rejoicing  in  his  function  of  admitting  those  around 
him  into  the  knowledge  in  which  he  seemed  to 
revel.  He  had  a  happy  method  of  getting  on  good 
terms  with  his  audience  before  proceeding  to  the 
serious  business  of  the  lecture.  When  his  health 
began  to  fail  he  was  sometimes  unwillingly  laid  aside, 
and  the  lectures  were  delivered  by  a  substitute.  On 
one  occasion  he  re-appeared  pale,  weak,  and  lame, 
after  such  an  enforced  holiday,  and  was  greeted 
enthusiastically  by  a  crowded  class.  He  told  them 
that   his  servant  had  said  to  him  that  a  rumour  was 

170 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

abroad  that  he  was  in  Morningside  Asylum.  He  had 
asked  what  answer  he  had  made,  and  heard  that  he 
had  replied  that  so  far  from  being  wrong  in  his  mind 
his  master  was  writing  a  book  in  bed.  While  he  did 
not  say  that  this  answer  was  strictly  correct,  he  was 
happy  to  assure  them,  his  pupils,  that  he  was  quite  right 
in  his  mind,  although  a  friend  had  hinted  that  morn- 
ing that  he' was  rather  weak  in  his  understanding  ! 

Old  fellow-students  meeting  each  other  in  after  life 
as  staid  practitioners  take  pleasure  in  recalling  the 
idiosyncrasies  and  peculiarities  of  their  teachers  ;  it  is 
probable  that  no  professor  has  ever  been  talked  over 
with  the  appreciation  which  breathes  through  the 
reminiscences  of  Simpson  conjured  up  by  those  whom 
he  taught. 

Simpson  left  his  mark  in  other  departments  besides 
those  of  the  subject  of  his  professorial  chair  and  of 
anaesthesia.  About  ten  years  after  the  introduction  of 
chloroform  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  process  of 
wound-healing — the  repair  of  necessary  wounds  in- 
flicted by  surgeons  in  the  course  of  their  work — and 
although  he  was  promptly  told  to  go  back  to  his 
midwifery,  he  worked  persistently  at  the  subject.  In 
those  days  the  subject  was  the  most  burning  one  in 
surgery  and  the  methods  employed  to  bring  about  suc- 
cessful results  varied  in  different  schools.  The  object 
of  all  methods  was  the  same,  viz.,  to  obtain  a  healthy, 
clean,  and  sightly  result  after  an  operation  ;  to  leave 
the  part  which  had  been  of  necessity  cut  in  a  condi- 

171 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

tion  as  nearly  as  possible  approaching  that  in  which  it 
had  been  found,  without  the  incidence  of  any  of  the  too 
frequent  grave  complications.  Surgeons  did  not  re- 
cognise at  first  the  power  of  nature  to  effect  for  them 
what  they  strove  after  ;  they  thought  to  attain  their 
object  by  compelling  the  tissues  to  heal  as  they  desired 
by  complicated  applications,  and  many  were  the  layers 
of  ointments  and  masses  of  dressings  heaped  on  wounds 
for  this  purpose.  For  a  long  time  all  efforts  were 
directed  to  the  discovery  of  some  specific  substance, 
the  application  of  which  would  give  the  necessary  im- 
pulse towards  healing  in  the  desired  manner.  Before 
Simpson's  day  it  had  been  generally  recognised  that  the 
cause — but  its  nature  was  quite  undreamt  of — of  the 
trouble  lay  in  the  air  surrounding  the  wound,  and  more 
dressings  were  piled  on  to  keep  out  the  air.  But  at  the 
same  time  bleeding  was  arrested  by  tying  the  cut 
arteries  with  Hgatures — chiefly  silken — and  these  were 
left  with  long  ends  hanging  out  of  the  wound  to  work 
their  way  out  by  a  process  of  ulceration,  or  irritation  or 
the  tissues  until  liberty  was  obtained.  This  process  was 
practically  incompatible  with  the  ideal  form  of  healing, 
known  as  healing  hy  first  intention^  /.f.,  union  without 
appreciable  loss  of  substance  or  the  formation  o^  pus  or 
matter.  So-called  "surgical  fever,"  secondary  haemor- 
rhage, and  blood-poisoning  were  the  frequent  fatal 
results  of  operation  wounds  treated  in  this  manner. 
Simpson  and  others  thought  to  prevent  these  alarming 
diseases  by  devising  other  means  of  closing  the  arteries ; 

172 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

thinking  that  if  some  method  or  material  were  used, 
which  nature  resented  less,  the  wound  would  more 
readily  close  by  first  intention.  In  1858  Simpson 
stated  that  he  had  for  some  time  past  been  experi- 
menting with  substitutes  for  the  ordinary  silk  and 
thread  ligatures,  and  in  the  course  of  his  experiments 
had  made  use  of  iron,  silver,  and  platinum  wires.  In 
his  usual  way  he  hunted  up  old  authorities,  and  found 
a  record  of  both  silver  and  gold  threads  having  been 
experimentally  used  by  bygone  practitioners.  He 
seems  to  have  been  pleased  with  his  results,  stating 
that  he  found  the  tissues  much  more  tolerant  of  these 
metallic  ligatures  than  they  were  of  the  ordinary 
organic  ones  ;  that  only  "adhesive  inflammation,"  not 
ulcerative  suppurative  inflammation,  was  excited.  This 
success,  however,  was  probably  due  to  the  superior 
cleanliness  of  the  metal,  but  this  he  did  not  recognise ; 
had  he  done  so  he  might  have  been  led  to  strive  after 
surgical  cleanliness,  and  have  partly  anticipated  the 
great  work  done  subsequently  by  others.  He  went  off], 
however,  on  a  different  line,  and  searched  for  some 
readier  method  of  using  metallic  means  of  closing  the 
blood  vessels,  being  stimulated  by  the  desire  to  abolish 
ligatures  altogether.  Thus  he  was  led,  after  ten  years' 
careful  research,  to  the  introduction  of  a  method  en- 
tirely original — that  of  Acupressure,  This  consisted  in 
the  introduction  of  a  fine  needle  through  the  tissues 
across  the  course  of  the  artery,  so  that  while  the  needle 
pressed  upon  one  side  of  the  artery  the  resisting  tissues 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

of  the  body  exerted  counter-pressure  on  the  opposite 
side.  He  claimed  for  his  method  the  merits  of  sim- 
plicity, elegance,  and  cleanliness,  and  urged  that  not 
only  did  the  tissues  tolerate  the  needle  as  they  did  not 
tolerate  silk  or  hemp,  but  that  unlike  the  ligature  the 
needle  could  be  withdrawn  as  soon  as  nature  had 
closed  the  blood  vessel  by  the  process  of  coagulation  of 
the  blood  v/ithin  it  set  up  by  the  pressure  ;  thus  the 
prolonged  irritating  presence  of  a  body  within  the 
wound  which  delayed  healing  until  it  had  ulcerated  its 
way  out  was  rendered  unnecessary,  and  a  better  and 
more  rapid  result  was  attained.  He  verified  his  theo- 
retical considerations  by  experiments  on  animals  and 
in  one  or  two  operations  on  the  human  subject,  and 
in  1859  read  a  communication  on  the  subject  to  the 
Royal   Society  of  Edinburgh. 

The  paper  was  written  under  great  pressure  of 
work,  indeed  he  stated  that  at  that  time  he  was 
hardly  ever  able  to  write  except  when  himself  "  con- 
fined "  ;  it  was  hastily  prepared  to  take  the  place 
of  that  of  another  Fellow  which  had  failed  to  be 
forthcoming  a  few  days  before  the  appointed  meet- 
ing. It  was  composed  at  a  country  house  where 
he  had  to  sleep  for  two  or  three  nights  watching 
a  case  of  diphtheria.  It  was  headed  as  usual  by  a 
Shakspearian  quotation,  this  time  briefly  in  Justice 
Shallow's  words,  thus  : — "  Tut,  a  pin  !  "  On  the 
evening  of  its  delivery  an  abstract  of  the  paper  was 
forwarded  to  the  leading  surgeons  in  England,  Europe, 

174 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

and  America,  and  diverse  were  the  opinions  ex- 
pressed. 

In  Scotland  the  new  method  met  with  the  greatest 
favour  and  the  strongest  opposition  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  Throughout  Europe  and  America  it 
was  everywhere  received  with  applause  and  support. 
Excellent  results  were  obtained  when  the  method  was 
properly  applied,  but  technical  considerations,  particu- 
larly the  difficulty  of  using  it  upon  blood  vessels  far 
removed  from  the  surface,  rendered  it  unsuitable  for 
universal  application. 

Professor  Syme  met  the  innovation  with  vehement 
opposition  ;  possibly  he  resented  this  intrusion  of  the 
gynaecologist  into  the  regions  of  general  surgery. 
He  took  into  his  class-room  one  pamphlet  on  the 
subject  by  Simpson,  v/hich  had  especially  aroused  his 
wrath  ;  he  stormed  at  the  author  before  his  students 
for  "  his  vulgar  insolence,"  and  then,  in  a  dramatic 
scene,  expressed  the  violence  of  his  contempt  by 
savagely  tearing  the  pamphlet  into  pieces  and  casting 
it  away.  In  a  subsequent  controversy  between  these 
two  old  opponents,  who  had  been  temporarily  united 
by  Simpson's  conduct  in  consulting  Syme  profes- 
sionally, by  their  joint  action  against  homoeopathy, 
and  by  Simpson's  defence  of  Syme  when  publicly 
attacked  by  an  English  surgeon,  the  feud  was  renewed. 

Simpson  persisted  for  years  in  collecting  reports  or 
operations  in  which  acupressure  was  employed,  and 
published   them    from    time    to   time    in    the    British 

^75 


SIR   JAMES    SIMPSON 

Medical  Journal  and  elsewhere.  In  1864  his  work 
on  the  subject  took  the  form  of  a  volume  contain- 
ing 580  quarto  pages.  His  friends  endeavoured  to 
rank  acupressure  with  chloroform  as  one  of  the  bless- 
ings to  humanity  made  manifest  by  him.  He  himself 
recognised  that  he  had  failed  to  gain  for  acupressure  a 
place  in  practice  such  as  he  had  gained  for  chloroform, 
but  he  looked  forward  to  a  time,  perhaps  a  quarter  of 
a  century  distant,  w^hen  his  method  would  be  beginning 
to  be  thought  about.  In  this  he  was  mistaken  for, 
on  the  contrary,  acupressure  was  beginning  to  be 
forgotten  long  before  twenty-five  years  had  elapsed. 
Another  worker  on  more  strictly  scientific  lines  had 
by  that  time  made  healing  by  first  intention,  without 
complications,  the  rule  instead  of  the  exception,  and 
conferred  a  benefit  on  humanity  as  great  if  not  greater 
than  that  of  anaesthesia.  In  1867,  while  Simpson  was 
still  alive,  Mr.  (now  Lord)  Lister  (then  a  hospital 
surgeon  in  Glasgow,  and  subsequently  Syme's  successor 
in  Edinburgh)  enunciated  the  new  principle  of  "  anti- 
septic surgery,"  which  recognised  the  living  infective 
micro-organisms  of  the  air  as  the  cause  of  the  trouble 
in  wounds.  He  directed  that  as  these  invisible  organisms 
(known  only  by  means  of  the  microscope)  were 
present  everywhere  in  the  air,  found  their  way  into 
all  sorts  of  wounds,  and  set  up  the  decomposition 
which  led  to  disastrous  results,  they  were  to  be  destroyed 
or  excluded  from  wounds  ;  and  he  suggested  effective 
means  of  accomplishing  this  end.  He  further  abolished 
176 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

the  long  ligatures  which  irritated  by  their  presence, 
and  by  the  organisms  they  conveyed  into  the  wound 
when  imperfectly  cleansed  as  they  usually  were  ;  and 
substituted  non-irritating  ligatures  which  nature  herself 
was  able  to  remove  by  the  process  of  absorption.  The 
recognition  of  this  antiseptic  principle  effected  a  much 
needed  revolution  in  surgery,  and  in  this  revolution 
acupressure  was  practically  annihilated.  Simpson  did 
not  live  long  enough  to  see  the  complete  establishment 
of  the  Listerian  principle  ;  at  first  he  vigorously  op- 
posed what  he  considered  to  be  an  attempt  to  retain 
the  old-fashioned  ligatures  in  preference  to  his  new 
acupressure ;  but  with  his  penetrative  eye  he  must 
have  foreseen  that  should  the  new  practice  prevail  and 
short  absorbable  ligatures  be  made  possible,  acupressure 
would  be  completely  superseded. 

In  the  estimation  of  the  writer  of  the  obituary 
notice  of  Professor  Simpson  in  the  British  Medical 
yournal^  the  greatest  of  all  his  works  was  that 
undertaken  in  the  subject  of  Hospitalism.  As  early  as 
1847  he  had  been  horrified  to  read  in  a  report  of  the 
work  done  in  the  Edinburgh  Infirmary,  that  out  of 
eighteen  cases  of  primary  amputation  performed  during 
a  period  of  four  years  only  two  survived.  He  faced 
this  fact  with  the  courage  of  the  reformer,  and  sought 
far  and  near  for  other  facts  to  support  the  theory 
which  he  gradually  evolved,  that  this  melancholy 
failure  of  surgeons  to  save  their  patients'  lives  was 
due  not  so  much  to  the  operation  or  the  operator 
177  N 


SIR  JAMES  SIMPSON 

as  to  the  environment  of  the  patient.  In  later  years 
he  himself  often  shrank,  on  account  of  unfortunate 
experiences,  from  performing  capital  operations  which 
he  had  formerly  unhesitatingly  undertaken.  The 
unhealthiness  of  hospitals  had  long  been  recognised  ; 
and  was  especially  observed  at  times  when  they  were 
overcrowded,  as  happened  during  war  time.  When 
the  public  had  thoroughly  grasped  the  utility  of  anaes- 
thetics, and  recognised  that  operations  could  be 
performed  painlessly,  there  were  fewer  refusals  to 
submit  to  the  knife  ;  there  was  a  rush  to  the  hospitals, 
and  the  surgical  wards  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land  became  crowded  with  men  and 
women  actually  longing  for  operation.  Amongst 
these  all  the  dreaded  sequelae  of  surgical  interference, 
which  no  power  seemed  able  to  check,  ravaged  with 
alarming  severity. 

It  is  to  Simpson's  credit  that  he  perceived  how  the 
introduction  of  anaesthesia  had  taxed  the  hospitals  and 
bewildered  the  operators,  who  sought  diligently  but 
unsuccessfully  in  every  direction  for  some  means  of 
reducing  hospital  mortality.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
to  set  to  work  with  method  to  investigate  this  question 
of  Hospitalism. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  his  career,  when  the  old 
Edinburgh  Infirmary  stood  condemned,  and  various 
proposals  for  rebuilding  it  on  a  new  site  and  improved 
plan  were  under  discussion,  that  his  voice  was  most 
loudly  heard.     For   many  years   he   had   thought  and 

178 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

taught  that  the  great  mortality  after  operations  in 
hospitals  was  due  to  the  impure  state  of  the  air  therein, 
derived  from  the  congregation  of  a  large  number  of 
sick  persons  under  one  roof.  He  picturesquely  stated 
that  the  man  laid  on  a  hospital  operating  table  was 
exposed  to  more  chances  of  death  than  the  English 
soldier  was  on  the  field  of  Waterloo.  His  original 
suggestion  was  that  hospitals  might  be  changed  from 
being  crowded  palaces,  with  a  layer  of  sick  on  each 
floor,  into  villages  or  cottages,  with  one,  or  at  most 
two,  patients  in  each  room  ;  the  building  to  be  of 
iron,  so  that  it  could  be  periodically  taken  down  and 
reconstructed,  and  presumably  thoroughly  renovated. 
This  drastic  proposal  brings  nowadays  a  smile  to  the 
lips,  for  we  see  now  how  he  was  groping  in  the 
dark  ;  but  the  magnitude  of  it  is  but  the  shadow  of 
the  evil  it  was  designed  to  cure.  The  change  was 
so  great  as  to  be  impracticable  in  the  eyes  of  most 
men  ;  he,  on  the  other  hand,  contended  that  it  was  to 
be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  humanity,  and,  therefore, 
no  difficulty,  however  great,  should  be  allowed  to 
stand  in  the  way.  He  did  not  understand  that  the 
evils  arose  not  from  the  air  itself  but  from  what  was 
in  the  air,  known  to  us  now  as  the  micro-organisms. 
His  remedy  was  a  proposal  to  run  away  from  the  evils 
without  receiving  any  guarantee  that  they  could  not 
and  would  not  successfully  pursue.  Had  Lister  not 
arisen,  Simpson's  proposals  might  have  possibly  pre- 
vailed, for  he  laboured  with  all  his  persistent  energy. 

179 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

The  general  belief  of  the  profession — but  it  was  no 
more  than  a  belief — was  that  operations  performed  in 
country  practice  were  not  so  frightfully  fatal  as  those 
performed  in  town  hospitals.  This  was  Simpson's 
opinion,  and  he  determined  to  test  its  truth  by  appeal 
to  facts.  He  drew  up  a  circular  with  a  schedule  for 
the  insertion  of  results  in  a  statistical  form,  and  sent 
it  far  and  wide  amongst  country  practitioners.  He 
awaited  the  result  with  anxious  expectation ;  the 
circular  asked  for  a  plain  statement  of  facts  only,  and 
for  all  he  knew  the  facts  might  be  against  his  theory  ; 
but  they  were  not.  From  all  over  England  and 
Scotland,  particularly  from  mining  districts,  where 
severe  operations  after  accidents  were  common,  the 
filled-up  schedules  flowed  in,  to  the  number  of  374. 
These  were  collected,  carefully  classified  and  sum- 
marised. The  operations  selected  were  amputations, 
and  the  result  briefly  was  this  : — 

Total  number  of  cases        -     2,098)       Mortality, 

„  „  deaths      ■         226  j  io"8  per  cent. 

The  relative  mortality  of  the  different  amputations 
was  also  shown  : — 

669  Thigh  cases  ;  deaths,  123  ;  mortality,  i8"3  per  cent. 

618  Leg         „     ;  „         82;           „          13-2 

433  Arm       „     5  „         19  ;           „            4-3 

378  Forearm,,     ;  „           2;          „           0-5         „ 

The  table  on  the  next  page  compared  the  results  of 
operations  for  injury  with  those  performed  for  disease. 

180 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 


For  Injury. 

For  Disease. 

Cases. 

Deaths. 

Mortality. 

Cases. 

Deaths. 

Mortality. 

Thigh 

313 

80 

per  cent. 
25-5 

356 

43 

per  cent. 

I2*0 

Leg 

409 

57 

13-4 

209 

25 

I2-0 

Arm 

344 

14 

4-0 

89 

5 

5-6 

Forearm 

318 

2 

0-6 

60 

0 

— 

These  statistics  were  accompanied  by  an  exhaustive 
detailed  examination  and  explanation  ;  every  possible 
point  of  attack  was  considered  and  protected.  "  I 
doubt  not,"  he  said,  "  that  the  segregation  of  the  sick 
from  the  sick — every  diseased  man  being  a  focus  of 
more  or  less  danger  to  the  diseased  around  him — is  a 
principle  of  no  small  moment  and  value."  He  attri- 
buted the  comparative  brilliancy  of  these  statistical 
results  to  the  isolation  of  the  patients  only  ;  he 
endeavoured  to  show  that  the  operations  were  often 
performed  amidst  dirty  and  squalid  surroundings,  on 
dirty  and  squalid  persons.  He  did  not  attribute 
sufficient  importance  to  the  fact  urged  by  many  of 
his  correspondents,  who  supported  his  general  con- 
tentions almost  to  a  man  out  of  their  own  experience, 
that  where  fresh  air,  ventilation,  and  cleanHness  pre- 
vailed, the  results  were  always  the  most  satisfactory. 

The  next  step  was  to  take  hospital  statistics  of 
181 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

similar  operations,  and  the  general  result  appears  in 
the  table  on  page   183. 

This  testimony  to  the  truth  of  Simpson's  opinion 
was  more  pronounced  than  even  he  himself  had 
anticipated.  "  Shall  this  pitiless  and  deliberate  sacri- 
fice of  human  life  to  conditions  which  are  more  or 
less  preventable  be  continued,  or  arrested  ?  Do  not 
these  terrible  figures  plead  eloquently  and  clamantly 
for  a  revision  and  reform  of  our  existing  hospital 
system  ? "  This  was  his  cry  until  at  length  breath 
failed  him.  The  opposition  was  not  strong,  but  the 
support  was  weak.  Although  there  was  much  criti- 
cism, his  conclusions  were  scarcely  called  in  question 
at  all  ;  trifling  holes  were  picked  in  his  statistics,  but 
his  contentions  were  universally  acknowledged  to  be 
correct  ;  a  few  reformers  only,  persuaded  as  he  was  of 
the  evils  of  hospitalism  and  working  at  the  subject, 
lent  him  their  advocacy.  But  he  alone  stood  unper- 
turbed at  the  extent  of  the  evils  and  the  magnitude 
of  the  change  which  he  proposed  in  order  to  up- 
root them  ;  death  laid  him  low  as  he  stood,  but  not 
before  he  had  modified  his  proposals  by  suggesting 
that  existing  hospitals  might  be  reconstructed,  and 
new  hospitals  built  on  the  now  almost  universally 
adopted  pavilion  system  on  which  the  new  Edinburgh 
Royal  Infirmary  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  built. 

The  steady  advance  of  aseptic  surgery  has  slowly 
but  surely  brought  about  the  results  which  Simpson 
strove   to  attain   by  a  radical  measure.     The  enemy 

182 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 


•sq;B3a 


•sasEQ 


•sq;B3a 


•sasEQ 


•Sl»K3a 


N  CO  OO 


•S3SE0 


sqiKaa 


•sasEQ 


•sq:iT33a 


•^      vo       oo 


•sasEQ 


n 

•sqiKSQ 

t^ 

« 

r-~ 

P 

o 

•S3SK0 

CN 

O 

N 

S 

•sqiuaa 

m 

vO 

f^ 

N 

< 

•S3SE3 

t\ 

oo 

OO 

N 

i 

•sqiBaa 

CN 

t^ 
N 

CO 

00 

;^ 

•S9SB0 

00 
N 

oo 

OO 
N 

m 

>v 

c 

o 

Hj    ■^  N 

.y    N    a^ 

«    C    C 

ex,  w    w 

>    J 

"C    G 

s^a     ^ 

, 

>-,  ^ 

c 

ij  cu 

S 

c         <^ 

0:10 

XO 


, — ••— ,  Ohoo 
00  10 

0^00  : 


CO  J2 

rt     4J 


E  S 


Ph   ovoo 

00     CTn 
"ti    N    N 


'83 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

wihich  had  baffled  surgeons  for  centuries  was  revealed 
by  Lister.  He  sent  surgeons  smiling  into  the  operat- 
ing-room practically  certain  of  success  instead  of 
dreading  the  terrible  onslaught  upon  their  own 
handiwork  of  the  formerly  unseen  and  unknown 
destroyer.  The  death  rate  of  operations  is  being 
daily  brought  nearer  and  nearer  to  vanishing  point. 
In  his  review  of  the  progress  of  wound  treatment 
during  the  Victorian  Era  pubHshed  in  the  Diamond 
Jubilee  number  of  The  Practitioner^  Mr.  Watson 
Cheyne  says  the  mortality  of  major  operations  does 
not  now  exceed  in  hospitals  more  than  three  or  four 
per  cent.,  and  this  is  made  up  practically  entirely  by 
cases  admitted  almost  moribund  and  operated  on  in 
extremis  with  faint  hope  of  survival.  The  field  of  surgery, 
too,  has  been  vastly  enlarged,  and  the  term  "  major 
operation  "  includes  not  merely  operations  of  necessity, 
undertaken  through  ages  past  as  the  only  possible 
means  of  saving  life,  but  also  operations  which  have 
become  possible  only  in  recent  years — some  of  them 
performed  merely  to  make  the  patient  "more  comfort- 
able," or  even  only  "more  beautiful."  And  this 
glorious  result  is  due,  as  Mr.  Cheyne  truly  says,  to 
the   immortal   genius  of  Lister. 

In  1867  Simpson  propounded  in  the  Medical  Times 
and  Gazette  a  proposal  for  stamping  out  smallpox  and 
other  infectious  diseases  such  as  scarlet  fever  and 
measles.  In  spite  of  vaccination,  which,  however,  was 
imperfectly  carried  out,  smallpox  alone  carried  off  five 

184 


PERSONAL,   ETC. 

thousand  lives  annually  in  Great  Britani.  A  serious 
outbreak  of  rinderpest  in  the  British  Islands  amongst 
cattle  had  recently  been  arrested  and  exterminated  by 
the  slaughter  of  all  affected  animals.  The  disease 
spread  as  smallpox  did  by  contagion,  and  Simpson  fell 
to  wondering  why  smallpox  could  not  also  be  ex- 
terminated. His  paper  was  a  noteworthy  contribution 
to  the  then  infant  science  of  Public  Health,  and  his 
proposal,  which  was,  however,  universally  regarded  as 
impracticable,  sprang  from  his  courageous  enthusiasm 
as  did  that  concerning  hospitals.  He  suggested  that 
the  place  of  the  pole-axe  in  the  extermination  of 
rinderpest  might  in  the  arrest  of  smallpox  be  taken  by 
complete  isolation,  and  he  laid  down  simple  but  rigid 
rules  for  its  enforcement.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
utilise  these  a  few  years  after  when  an  epidemic  of 
fatal  violence  broke  out  in  Edinburgh.  He  v/as  in  no 
way  an  anti-vaccinationist,  but  his  isolation  measures 
were  too  strong  for  the  people  in  those  days.  We  are 
not  surprised  that  he  boldly  proposed  this  measure,  for 
he  related  glaring  instances  of  neglect  of  the  simplest 
precautions.  Beggars  held  up  infants  with  faces 
encrusted  with  active  smallpox  into  the  very  faces  ot 
passers-by  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  on  one 
occasion  a  woman  was  found  in  Glasgow  serving  out 
sweetmeats  to  the  children  of  a  school  with  her  hands 
and  face  covered  by  the  disease.  He  cried  aloud  for 
legislation  to  prevent  such  gross  abuses,  which  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  stigmatise  as  little  short  of  criminal. 

185 


CHAPTER  XI 

FURTHER    REFORMS HONOURS 

Professional  and  University  Reform — Medical  women — Honours- — The 
Imperial  Academy  of  Medicine  of  France — Baronetcy — Domestic 
bereavement — The  University  Principalship — Freedom  of  the  City 
of  Edinburgh — Bigelow  of  Boston — Views  on  education — Graduation 
addresses, 

PROFESSOR  SIMPSON  took  a  warm  interest 
in  medical  politics,  and  made  himself  heard  as 
a  member  of  the  Senatus  of  the  University.  That 
body  was  not  renowned  for  any  spirit  of  harmony 
prevailing  in  its  midst  ;  it  included  the  medical  pro- 
fessors many  of  whom  were  in  professional  opposition 
to  each  other  and  were  actuated  by  conflicting  interests. 
The  rivalry  prevailing  amongst  the  leaders  of  the  pro- 
fession in  the  Scots  capital  was  amusingly  shown  in 
one  of  Sir  James's  letters,  where  he  related  how 
Professor  Miller  had  just  given  a  capital  address  to  the 
young  graduates  and  recommended  them  to  marry 
chiefly  because  Mr.  Syme  had  advised  the  reverse  two 
years  before.     "  At  least,"   he   said,   "  so   Mr.  Syme 

i86 


FURTHER   REFORMS— HONOURS 

whispered  to  me,  and  so,  indeed,  did  Miller  himself 
state  to  Dr.  Laycock  !  " 

On  the  principles  of  Medical  Reform  and  University- 
Reform  the  professors  were,  however,  practically 
unanimous,  but  their  interests  came  into  conflict  with 
those  of  the  extra-academical  school.  The  two 
opposing  bodies  worked  hard  to  gain  their  own  ends 
when  a  Parliamentary  Committee  was  appointed  in 
1852  to  inquire  into  medical  reform.  The  modern 
Athens  became  once  more  disturbed  by  wordy  war- 
fare. The  general  ends  aimed  at  by  the  reformers 
were  the  obtaining  of  a  proper  standing  for  qualified 
practitioners  ;  some  satisfactory  means  of  enabling  the 
public  to  distinguish  between  regular  and  irregular, 
quack,  practitioners ;  and  to  define  the  amount  of 
general  and  professional  knowledge  necessary  for 
degrees  and  qualifications.  It  was  also  desired  to 
remove  the  absurd  anomaly  whereby,  although  Scots 
medical  education  was  then  ahead  of  English,  Scots 
graduates  had  no  legal  standing  in  England.  The 
Medical  Act  which  was  passed  in  1858  carried  out 
many  of  the  best  suggestions  made  before  the  Com- 
mittee, and  effected  desirable  improvements  both  in 
the  status  of  practitioners  and  in  medical  education  ; 
but  it  was  inadequate,  as  time  has  shown,  and  the 
question  of  reform  still  burns.  Simpson  took  an 
active  interest  in  the  proceedings  before  the  Com- 
mittee, and  made  several  dashes  up  to  London  to 
further   the   projects  which    he   had    at    heart.     The 

187 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

annual  meeting  of  the  British  Medical  Association 
was  held  in  Edinburgh  in  July,  1858,  at  the  moment 
when  the  fate  of  the  Bill  hung  in  the  balance.  As 
the  journal  of  the  Association  said  at  the  time  the  fruit 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century's  growth  was  plucked  in  the 
midst  of  the  rejoicings.  Sir  Robert  Christison  publicly 
stated  that  owing  to  Simpson's  energetic  efforts  certain 
far-reaching  and  objectionable  clauses,  which  had 
been  allowed  to  creep  into  the  Bill,  were  expunged 
at  the  last  moment.  Simpson  went  up  to  London 
by  the  night  train,  employed  the  following  day  in 
effecting  his  purpose,  and  returned  the  next  night  ; 
this  was  when  the  journey  took  nearly  twice  as  many 
hours  as  now. 

The  Universities  (Scotland)  Act  was  also  passed  in 
1858  ;  by  it  the  complete  control  of  the  University, 
and  with  it  the  patronage  of  many  of  the  Chairs,  was 
lost  to  its  original  founders,  the  Town  Council,  who 
had  so  carefully  and  successfully  guided  it  through 
nearly  three  centuries.  The  Council  did  not  part 
from  their  charge  without  a  struggle  ;  in  urging 
their  cause  they  proudly  pointed  to  the  fact  that  they 
had  appointed  Simpson  to  the  Chair  of  Midwifery 
against  the  opposition  of  the  medical  faculty.  To 
have  elected  him,  they  thought,  under  such  circum- 
stances displayed  their  discernment,  vindicated  their 
existence,  and  pleaded  for  the  perpetuation  of  their 
elective  office. 

When  the  question  of  the  admission  of  women  to 
188 


FURTHER  REFORMS— HONOURS 

the  study  of  medicine  came  up  in  Edinburgh  and 
divided  the  ancient  city  once  more  into  two  hostile 
camps,  Simpson's  sympathies  appear  to  have  gone  with 
the  sex  to  which  he  was  already  a  benefactor.  He 
recognised  that  there  was  a  place,  if  a  small  one, 
within  the  ranks  of  the  profession  for  women  ;  and 
when  the  question  came  to  the  vote  he  cast  his  in 
their  favour.  The  proposal,  however,  was  rejected, 
and  has  only  quite  recently  become  law  in  the 
University. 

Numerous  honours  were  heaped  upon  him  during 
the  last  five-and-twenty  years  of  his  life.  In  1847  ^^ 
filled  the  office  of  President  of  the  Edinburgh  College 
of  Physicians,  and  in  1852  held  the  corresponding 
post  in  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Society.  In  the 
following  year  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Medicine  of 
France — a  body  which  lacks  an  analogue  in  this 
country — conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Foreign 
Associate.  This  was  a  jealously  guarded  honour 
awarded  only  to  the  most  highly  distinguished  men  of 
the  day,  and  it  was  conferred  upon  Simpson  in  an 
altogether  unprecedented  manner  which  doubled  its 
value.  According  to  custom  a  commission  of 
members  prepared  a  list  of  renowned  men  whom  they 
advised  the  Academy  to  elect  ;  in  the  list  no  British 
name  appeared  although  Owen,  Faraday,  and  Bright 
were  entered  as  "  reserves."  On  the  day  of  election 
the  members  accepted  all  the  candidates  named  in  the 
original  list  until  the  last  was  reached.  When  the 
189 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

president  asked  for  the  vote  for  this  individual  a 
sensational  and  truly  Gallic  scene  was  enacted. 
Almost  to  a  man  the  members  rose,  and  loud  and 
long  proclaimed  Simpson's  name.  Excited  speeches 
were  made,  and  amidst  great  enthusiasm  he  was  elected 
to  the  one  remaining  vacancy  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.  It  had  remained  for  Simpson  to  prove,  as 
the  President  courteously  pointed  out  at  the  time, 
that  there  existed  a  greater  honour  than  that  of  being 
elected  by  the  Academy — viz.,  that  of  being  chosen  in 
spite  of  the  will  of  the  Academy  itself. 

This  was  by  no  means  the  only  honour  av/arded  to 
him  by  France.  In  1856  the  French  Academy  of 
Sciences  voted  him  the  Monthyon  Prize  of  two 
thousand  francs  for  "  the  most  important  benefits  done 
to  humanity."  Other  foreign  societies  added  their 
compliments,  and  he  was  elected  Foreign  Associate  of 
the  Belgian  Royal  Academy  of  Medicine,  of  the 
Parisian  Surgical  and  Biological  Societies,  and  of  the 
Medical  Societies  of  Norway,  Stockholm,  Copenhagen, 
New  York,  Massachusetts,  Leipsic,  and  other  places. 

In  1866  his  own  country  made  an  acknowledgment 
of  his  eminent  attainments  when  the  Queen  offered 
him  a  baronetcy  on  the  advice  of  Lord  John  Russell. 
Twice  before  he  had  refused  a  title,  but  this  time 
he  wrote  to  his  brother  that  he  feared  he  must  accept 
although  it  appeared  so  absurd  to  take  a  title.  This 
honour  was  the  first  of  its  kind  ever  conferred  upon  a 
doctor,  or  even  upon  a  professor,  in  Scotland.  It  was 
190 


FURTHER  REFORMS— HONOURS 

entirely  unsought,  and  scarcely  welcomed  by  its 
recipient  for  its  own  sake  ;  he  regarded  it  not  merely 
as  a  personal  honour  but  also  as  a  tardy  recognition  of 
the  services  of  the  Edinburgh  school  in  the  cause  of 
medicine.  He  enjoyed  the  congratulations  which 
showered  upon  him,  and  felt  glad  when  the  citizens 
flocked  to  Oueen  Street  to  express  their  feelings, 
much  to  Lady  Simpson's  delight.  The  medical  papers 
unanimously  approved  of  the  honour,  the  Lancet  re- 
marking that  apart  from  his  connection  with  chloro- 
form, Simpson  was  distinguished  as  an  obstetric 
practitioner,  as  a  physiologist,  as  an  operator,  and  as 
a  pathologist  of  great  research  and  originality. 

Domestic  bereavement  quenched  the  rejoicings  over 
the  baronetcy,  and  condolences  displaced  congratula- 
tions. He  fell  ill  for  a  time  himself,  and  in  a  condition 
of  unusual  mental  depression  spoke  of  the  baronetcy  as 
appearing  even  more  of  a  bauble  in  sickness  than  in 
health.  In  less  than  a  fortnight  after  the  offer  of  the 
title  his  eldest  son  David  died  after  a  short  illness.  He 
had  been  educated  for  the  medical  profession,  and  was 
a  youth  of  considerable  promise  and  of  an  earnest 
temperament ;  his  death  fell  as  a  severe  blow,  and 
Simpson  even  contemplated  abandoning  the  baronetcy 
which  had  not  yet  been  formally  conferred.  The 
words  of  his  friends,  however,  and  the  thought  that 
his  dead  son  had  particularly  insisted  on  its  acceptance, 
persuaded  him. 

A  coat  of  arms  had  to  be  drafted  for  the  new 
IQI 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

Baronet,  and  this  was  a  pleasant  interest  for  one  of  his 
tastes.  The  family  history  was  searchingly  entered 
into,  and  the  arms  of  his  father's  family  were  differ- 
enced on  the  most  correct  lines  with  those  of  the 
Jervays  from  whom  his  mother  had  sprung.  In  the 
matter  of  a  crest  he  was  able  to  be  boldly  original,  and 
adopted  the  rod  of  ^sculapius  over  the  motto  Ficto 
dolor e^  and  thus  handed  down  to  his  family  the 
memory  of  his  great  victory  over  pain.  In  June  of 
the  same  year,  1866,  the  University  of  Oxford  con- 
ferred upon  him  one  of  the  few  honours  which  reached 
him  from  England  in  awarding  him  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law.  The  University  of 
Dublin  made  him  an  honorary  Doctor  of  Medicine, 
and  he  was  created  an  honorary  Fellow  of  the  King's 
and  Queen's  College  of  Physicians  of  Ireland. 

By  the  death  of  the  veteran  Sir  David  Brewster,  in 
February,  1868,  the  office  of  Principal  of  Edinburgh 
University  fell  vacant.  This  post  is  a  survival  from 
the  earliest  days.  The  College  out  of  which  the 
University  grew  was  estabhshed  in  1583  by  the  Town 
Council  under  a  charter  granted  by  James  VI.  Only 
one  regent  or  tutor  was  necessary  at  first  to  teach  the 
"  bairns,"  as  the  students  were  termed  in  the  contract 
entered  into  between  Rollock,  the  first  regent,  and 
the  city  fathers.  Rollock  was  promised  that  as  the 
college  increased  "  in  policy  and  learning  "  he  should 
be  advanced  to  the  highest  post  created.  By  his  own 
efforts  the  number  of  students   increased   so   greatly 

192 


FURTHER   REFORMS— HONOURS 

that  within  the  first  few  years  several  other  regents 
were  appointed,  and  the  Council,  remembering  their 
promise,  dignified  him  with  the  title  of  Principal  or 
First  Master  in  1586.  This  office  was  held  during 
the  succeeding  two  centuries  by  a  series  of  more  or 
less  worthy  men,  prominent  among  whom  were 
Leighton,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  and 
William  Carstares,  better  known  as  a  statesman  and 
for  his  connection  with  the  Rye  House  Plot  in  1684. 
During  Carstares's  tenure  the  tutors  were  turned  into 
professors,  and  the  college  became  more  strictly  speak- 
ing a  university,  although  from  the  first  it  had  assumed 
without  any  right  by  charter  the  function  of  degree- 
granting.  Although  the  utility  of  the  post  quite  vanished 
when  the  college  became  a  university,  and  the  princi- 
pal had  no  place  in  the  constitution  of  a  university, 
nevertheless  the  principalship  was  not  abolished.  The 
Universities  Act  of  1858  recognised  the  office,  but 
only  as  that  of  an  ornamental  head,  acting  as  president 
of  the  assembly  of  professors  constituting  the  Senatus 
Academicus.  The  salary  is  a  thousand  pounds  a  year 
with  an  official  residence,  not  within  the  precincts  or 
the  University.  The  former  head  master  of  the 
college,  known  by  and  knowing  every  student,  became 
a  sinecurist  of  whose  existence  it  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  many  of  the  students  are,  through  no  fault  of 
their  own,  unaware.  Brewster  had  been  a  distinguished 
occupant  of  the  post — distinguished  not  as  a  principal, 
for  he   received  the  appointment  only   at  the  age  of 

193  o 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

seventy-eight,  but  as  a  scientist.  To  the  public  he 
was  best  known  as  the  author  of  the  "  Life  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,"  and  as  the  inventor  of  the  kaleidoscope.  It 
is  said  that  Brewster  never  spoke  as  much  as  five  lines 
at  the  meetings  of  the  Senatus  Academicus  without 
having  previously  written  them  down  ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  this  lack  of  spontaneous  utterance  from 
the  Chairman  gave  the  tone  to  the  assembly.  The 
rival  professors  doubtless  nursed  their  animosities  for 
some  less  dignified  meeting-place,  differing  there  only 
on  the  most  correct  academic  lines. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Simpson  at  first  refused  to 
be  a  candidate  for  the  vacant  post.  He  would  un- 
doubtedly have  made  an  unrivalled  figure-head  for  his 
Jlma  Mater ;  he  was  the  leading  figure  in  Scotland 
already  and  "  did  the  hospitalities "  of  Edinburgh 
to  distinguished  visitors  of  all  classes.  But  he  would 
probably  have  been  obliged  to  resign  his  professorship 
and  have  thus  been  cut  off  from  his  sphere  of  greatest 
usefulness  ;  and  although  he  would  have  grasped 
with  ease  the  details  of  university  afrairs  it  is  open  to 
question  whether  he  would  have  suitably  filled  the 
post  of  president  over  men  to  many  of  whom  he  was 
in  professional  opposition.  The  most  that  the  sug- 
gestion that  he  should  be  a  candidate  conveyed  was  a 
well-meant  compliment,  but  it  would  have  been  a 
greater  compliment  on  his  part  if  he  had  really  ended 
his  life  as  the  ornamental  head  of  the  University  he 
had  already  done  so  much  to  adorn.  He  would 
194 


FURTHER   REFORMS— HONOURS 

certainly  have  turned  his  position  to  good  account, 
and  perhaps  might  have  earned  the  gratitude  of  all 
succeeding  students  by  improving  their  position  in  the 
University  and  bettering  their  relationship  with  their 
teachers — a  much  needed  reform  at  that  time.  But 
he  was  a  man  for  more  active  occupation,  and  it  was 
more  fitting  that  he  should  persevere  to  the  end  in  the 
w^ork  of  his  life.  Simpson  expressed  his  opinion  that 
the  most  suitable  man  for  the  post  was  the  one  already 
named  by  Brewster  and  desired  by  a  majority  of  the 
Senatus  ;  but  that  man,  Professor  Christison,  then 
over  seventy  years  of  age,  generously  said  that  Sir 
Alexander  Grant,  an  active  candidate,  w^ould  better 
fill  the  post.  A  strong  section  of  Edinburgh  folks 
persisted  in  pushing  Simpson,  and  in  deference  to 
their  wishes  he  consented  to  enter  the  lists.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  he  displayed  any  of  the  eager 
energy  which  had  marked  his  candidature  for  the 
midwifery  chair  ;  but  his  friends  made  up  for  his 
comparative  apathy.  They  were  met  by  a  strong 
opposition,  not  instigated  by  his  rivals  for  the  post, 
but  offered  by  insignificant  persons  who  cherished  ill- 
will  against  him  and  spread  untrue  statements  with  the 
object  of  damaging  his  character.  Greatly  owing  to 
the  reports  spread  in  this  manner  he  was  not  elected. 
Sir  Alexander  Grant  became  the  new  Principal.  The 
fact  that  he  could  not  gain  the  post  was  communicated 
to  him  in  a  letter  which  reached  him  one  morning 
before   prayers.     He  conducted  the  worship  as   usual 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

after  reading  the  letter,  and  when  the  family  had 
afterwards  all  assembled  at  the  breakfast  table  he 
intimated  the  fact  to  them  and  dismissed  the  subject 
from  his  mind  with  the  quiet  remark,  "  I  have  lost 
the  Principalship." 

An  interesting  episode  pertaining  to  this  period  was 
narrated  by  the  Free  Church  minister  of  Newhaven. 
"  The  election,"  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Duns,  "  took  place 
on  a  Monday,  and  it  was  on  the  Sabbath  preceding, 
between  sermons,  that  one  of  my  people,  a  fisherman, 
called  on  me  stating  that  his  wife  was  apparently 
dying,  but  that  she  atid  all  her  friends  were  longing 
most  intensely  for  a  consultation  with  Sir  James.  I 
did  not  know  well  what  to  do,  for  I  knew  that  his 
mind  was  likely  to  be  very  much  harassed,  and  I 
shrank  from  adding  to  his  troubles.  But  in  the 
urgency  of  the  case  I  wrote  him  a  note  simply  stating 
that  one  of  the  best  women  in  the  town  was  at  the 
point  of  death  and  longed  for  his  help,  leaving  the 
matter  without  another  word  to  himself.  The  result 
was  that  he  came  down  immediately,  spent  three 
hours  beside  his  patient,  performed,  I  am  told,  miracles 
of  skill,  and  did  not  leave  her  till  the  crisis  was  over. 
She  would,  I  am  assured,  have  died  that  evening,  but 
she  was  one  of  the  sincerest  mourners  at  his  funeral, 
and  she  still  lives  to  bless  his  memory.  After  all  was 
over  he  went  into  a  friend's  house  and  threw  himself 
down  on  a  sofa  in  a  state  of  utter  exhaustion.  This 
was  the  way  in  which,  without  hope  of  fee  or  reward, 
196 


FURTHER   REFORMS— HONOURS 

and  while  others  were  waiting  for  him  able  to  give 
him  both,  Sir  James  spent  the  evening  preceding  the 
election.  Some  will  say  it  was  no  great  matter  after 
all.  Why,  for  that  part  of  it,  neither  was  the  cup  of 
cold  water  which  the  dying  Sir  Philip  Sidney  passed 
from  his  own  lips  to  those  of  a  wounded  soldier  in 
greater  agony  than  himself.  But  the  incident  is 
recalled  whenever  his  name  is  mentioned  as  adding  to 
the  glory  of  the  knight  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche^  and 
the  incident  I  have  mentioned  in  the  Newhaven 
fisherman's  house  surely  gives  to  Sir  James  a  place 
beside  him  in  the  glorious  order  of  chivalrous 
generosity." 

Among  the  last  of  the  honours  offered  to  Simpson 
was  the  Freedom  of  the  City  of  Edinburgh  ;  a  fitting 
tribute  from  the  City  in  which  and  for  which  he  had  so 
nobly  and  untiringly  laboured.  It  was  proposed  to  present 
him  with  the  burgess-ticket  at  the  same  time  that  it 
was  publicly  presented  to  another  hero  in  a  different 
sphere.  Lord  Napier  of  Magdala  ;  but  by  his  own  desire 
the  ceremony  was  postponed  so  far  as  he  was  concerned 
in  order  that  full  honour  might  be  paid  to  Lord  Napier. 
At  the  eventual  presentation  the  Lord  Provost  made  a 
short  speech  recapitulating  the  achievements  for  which 
they  desired  to  honour  him,  and  referring  to  his  repu- 
tation as  being  great  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames  and 
the  Seine,  as  well  as  on  the  shores  of  the  P'irth  of 
Forth  ;  he  likewise  expressed  the  pride  of  his  fellow- 
citizens   that  Sir  James  had  remained  amongst  them 

197 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

and  had  not  been  drawn  away  like  other  men  of  genius 
before  him  by  the  attractions  of  the  greater  metropolis 
of  the  south.  Simpson's  reply  took  the  form  of  an 
impromptu  review  of  his  career  from  the  time  he  first 
entered  the  City  as  a  wonderstruck  boy.  "  I  came," 
he  proudly  said,  "  to  settle  down  and  fight  amongst 
you  a  hard  and  up-hill  battle  of  life  for  bread  and 
name  and  fame,  and  the  fact  that  I  stand  here  before 
you  this  day  so  far  testifies  that  in  the  arduous  struggle 
I  have — won." 

The  accounts  of  the  speeches  delivered  on  this 
occasion  which  reached  America  raised  the  indigna- 
tion of  Dr.  Bigelow,  of  Boston.  Reference  had  been 
made  to  chloroform  in  a  manner  which  appeared  to 
slight  Morion's  work  in  introducing  ether  as  an  anaes- 
thetic before  chloroform  was  heard  of.  In  Bigelow 's 
estimation  Simpson  posed  as  a  hero  at  the  expense  of 
Morton.  Simpson  had  certainly  been  far  from  liberal 
in  his  allusions  to  Morton  and  others  in  his  article 
upon  Anaesthesia  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Br'itayinica^  and 
had  written  almost  entirely  about  his  own  discovery. 
A  controversy  was  excited,  and  on  his  deathbed  Simpson 
wrote  a  letter  to  Bigelow  to  prove  that  he  had  duly 
considered  the  priority  and  the  value  of  Morton's 
and  Wells's  work.  In  his  concluding  sentences  he 
expressed  regret  at  having  taken  up  so  much  of  his 
own  and  his  correspondent's  time  in  such  a  petty 
discussion,  but  blamed  his  illness  which  prevented 
him  from  writing  with  the  force  and  brevity  required. 
198 


FURTHER    REFORMS— HONOURS 

"With  many  of  our  profession  in  America,"  he  said, 
"  I  have  the  honour  of  being  personally  acquainted, 
and  regard  their  friendship  so  very  highly  that  I 
shall  not  regret  this  attempt — my  last,  perhaps — at 
professional  writing  as  altogether  useless  on  my  part 
if  it  tend  to  fix  my  name  and  memory  duly  in 
their  love  and  esteem." 

The  widespread  national  expression  of  the  sense  of 
loss  and  of  sympathy  which  reached  Edinburgh  from 
the  United  States  after  Sir  James's  death  testified  to 
the  regard  in  which  he  was  held  from  one  end  to 
the  other  of  that  country.  In  Boston  itself  the 
Gynaecological  Society,  of  which  he  had  been  the 
first  honorary  member,  convened  a  special  memorial 
meeting,  which  was  solemn  and  impressive.  He 
had  not  been  mistaken  in  presuming  with  his  last 
breath  that  he  held  the  regard  of  his  American 
confreres. 

On  the  subject  of  education  Simpson  held  what 
were  considered  advanced  opinions,  but  which  had 
already  been  expressed  by  Mr.  Lowe.  A  few  years 
before  his  death  he  delivered  a  lecture  on  Modern 
and  Ancient  Languages  at  Granton,  in  which  he 
lamented  the  common  neglect  of  modern  languages 
in  the  education  of  the  day.  He  had  personally  felt 
the  want  of  a  mastery  over  French  and  German, 
both  in  the  course  of  his  studies  and  during  his 
travels;  nor  did  he  feel  the  want  compensated  for  by 
his  ability  to  write  and   talk  in  Latin.     He  strongly 

199 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

advocated  the  paying  of  more  attention  to  the  modern 
and  less  to  the  dead  languages,  and  he  urged  that 
natural  science  should  take  its  place  in  the  ordinary 
curriculum  of  the  great  public  schools.  These  views 
were  used  as  an  argument  against  his  fitness  for  the 
post  of  Principal  of  the  ancient  University. 

On  three  separate  occasions  it  fell  to  Simpson's 
lot  to  deliver  the  annual  address  to  the  newly-fledged 
graduates,  which  is  the  duty  of  the  professors  of 
the  medical  faculty  in  rotation.  This  ceremony 
remains  deeply  impressed  in  the  memory  of  Edin- 
burgh men,  simple  and  dull  as  it  undoubtedly  is. 
The  homily  delivered  by  the  orator  of  the  day  con- 
tains excellent  counsels  appropriate  to  the  occasion, 
but  the  young  man  eager  to  rise  and  confidently 
try  his  win'gs  pays  little  attention  to  the  words  of 
wisdom  ;  unless  it  be  to  feel  wonder  that  just  as  he 
is  about  to  leave  them,  probably  for  ever,  his  Alma 
Mater  and  her  priests  have  discovered  an  affectionate 
regard  for  him  and  his  welfare.  A  few  years  later 
the  struggling  young  practitioner  may  perhaps  turn 
to  the  copy  of  this  graduation  address,  forwarded  to 
him  by  post  with  the  author's  compHments,  and  find 
in  such  an  one  as  Simpson  delivered  much  to 
strengthen  and  encourage  him.  In  1842  and  1855 
he  delivered  addresses  from  which  quotations  have 
already  been  made  ;  and  in  the  third  one,  spoken  in 
1868,  he  made  a  forecast  of  the  future  of  medical 
science,  predicting  inter  alia  that  by  concentration 
200 


FURTHER   REFORMS— HONOURS 

of  electric  or  other  lights  we  should  yet  be  enabled 
to  make  many  parts  of  the  body  sufficiently  diaphanous 
for  inspection  by  the  practised  eye  of  the  physician. 
It  was  his  habit  to  commit  such  lectures  to  memory 
and  to  dehver  them  without  notes.  He  was  a  ready 
public  speaker  on  any  subject  in  which  he  was  inte- 
rested ;  speeches  made  on  the  spur  of  the  moment 
teemed  with  pleasantly-put  facts  and  apt  anecdotes 
from  the  vast  storehouse  of  his  memory.  A  speech 
from  Sir  James  was  one  of  the  treats  in  which  Edin- 
burgh folks  delighted. 


201 


CHAPTER    XII 
Failing  Health — Death 

Poetical  instincts — Religious  views — Religious  and  emotional  influences 
in  his  life — Doubts — Revivalism — Health — Overwork  tells — Bed 
— Gradual  failure — Death  on  May  6,  1870 — Grave  offered  in 
V/estminster  Abbey — Buried  at  Warriston — Obituary  notices — 
Bust  in  the  Abbey — His  greatness. 

THE  etnotional  part  of  Sir  James  Simpson's 
nature  found  some  small  expression  in  versi- 
fying both,  as  we  have  seen,  in  early  years  and  in 
later  days.  We  know  that  he  was  a  close  student 
of  Shakspeare,  but  Miss  Simpson  states  that  her 
father  probably  never  entered  a  theatre,  so  that  he 
can  never  have  seen  a  representation.  He  was 
familiar  with  modern  poets,  especially  with  Burns. 
It  is  related  that  he  once  tested  a  lady  friend's  insight 
into  the  vernacular  by  quoting  from  memory  for 
explanation  the  following  lines  from  the  national 
bard  : — 

"  Baudrons  sit  by  the  ingle-neuk, 

An'  wi'  her  loof  her  face  she's  washin', 
Willie's  wife  is  nae  sae  trig, 

She  dichts  her  grunzie  wi'  a  hooschen. 

202 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

His  own  verses  were  neither  better  nor  worse  than 
those  written  by  other  men  whose  abilities  have  led 
them  to  excel  in  more  practical  pursuits.  In  youth 
they  celebrated  student  life,  or  were,  as  usual, 
dedicated  to  Celia's  eyebrows  ;  in  mature  life  they 
were  of  a  more  serious,  and  latterly  of  a  strong 
religious  description.  At  all  times  he  delighted  in 
writing  little  doggerel  verses  to  his  children  or  friends  ; 
valueless  as  such  efforts  are,  they  served  a  useful 
purpose  ;  their  composition  was  a  recreation  and 
pleasant  relief  to  his  over-taxed  brain,  while  it  was 
an  amusement  to  him  to  watch  their  effect  upon 
the  recipients,  and  perhaps  to  receive  a  reply  clothed 
also  in  the  garb  of  rhyme. 

Sir  James's  example  so  influenced  the  people  amongst 
whom  he  lived  that  it  is  impossible  to  omit  reference 
to  his  attitude  throughout  life  towards  rehgion  and  an 
account  of  what  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  phases 
in  his  history.  Up  to  Christmas,  1861,  he  had  been, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  religious  public,  an  ordinary 
citizen  ;  as  regular  in  church-going  as  his  professional 
engagements  permitted  ;  thoroughly  interested  in 
Church  affairs,  and  a  strong  supporter  of  his  own 
Church  ;  possessing  to  the  full  the  national  cha- 
racteristic of  intimate  acquaintance  v/ith  the  letter 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  ;  and  something 
of  a  theologian  as  well,  as  his  answer  to  the  re- 
ligious objections  to  anaesthesia  showed.  At  that 
period,  to  the  delight  of  many,  and  the  genuine 
203 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

astonishment  of  others  among  his  fellow-citizens, 
he  became  a  leading  spirit  in  the  strong  Evangelical 
movement  v^hich  v\^as  then  spreading  through  the 
country.  "Simpson  is  converted,"  cried  the  enthu- 
siastic revivalist.  "Simpson  is  converted  now,"  laughed 
those  who  had  opposed  every  action  of  his.  "  If  Pro- 
fessor Simpson  is  converted,  it  is  time  some  of  the  rest 
of  us  were  seeing  if  we  do  not  need  to  be  converted," 
wisely  answered  one  of  his  friends.  In  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  word  Simpson  was  not  converted.  Had 
he  passed  away  without  developing  this  latter-day  Evan- 
gelical enthusiasm,  all  sects  would  still  have  united  in 
thankfulness  that  such  a  man  had  Hved.  Why  this 
religious  revival  during  the  sixties  affected  him  as  it 
did  becomes  evident  in  looking  at  the  religious,  moral, 
and  emotional  influences  which  affected  him  through- 
out his  career. 

The  simple-minded,  devout  mother,  strong  in  faith 
and  strong  in  works,  who  passed  out  of  his  life  when 
he  was  but  nine  years  old,  left  a  vivid  impression  on 
the  boy's  mind.  In  after  years  he  would  call  up  the 
picture  of  the  good  woman  retiring  from  the  shop  and 
the  worries  and  troubles  of  daily  life  into  which  she 
had  so  vigorously  thrown  herself  and  so  bravely 
faced  even  with  failing  health,  into  the  quiet  little 
room  behind,  to  kneel  down  in  prayer  ;  and  would 
describe  how  at  other  times  she  went  about  her 
work  chanting  to  herself  one  of  the  old  Scots  metrical 
psalms  : 

204 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

Jehovah  hear  thee  in  the  day,  when  trouble  He  did  send 

And  let  the  name  of  Jacob's  God  thee  from  all  ill  defend. 

Let  Him  remember  all  thy  gifts,  accept  thy  sacrifice, 

Grant  thee  thine  heart's  wish,  and  fulfil  thy  thoughts  and  counsel  wise. 


He  used  to  relate  one  memory  of  her,  touching  in 
its  simplicity :  how  one  day  he  entered  the  house  with 
a  big  hole  in  his  stocking  which  she  perceived  and 
drew  him  on  to  her  knee  to  darn.  As  she  pulled  the 
repaired  garment  on  she  said,  "  My  Jamie,  when  your 
mother's  away,  you  will  mind  that  she  was  a  grand 
darner."  He  remembered  the  words  as  if  they  had 
been  spoken  but  yesterday,  and  subsequently  offered  to 
a  lady  who  had  established  a  girls'  Industrial  School  in 
his  native  village  a  prize  for  the  best  darning. 

The  simple  faith  which  beat  in  the  life  of  the 
Bathgate  baker's  household  was  ingrained  into  James 
Simpson  ;  he  went  forth  into  the  world  full  of  it,  and 
full  of  the  determination  that  by  his  fruits  he  should  be 
known. 

The  tender,  loving  care  for  his  welfare  of  his  sisters 
and  brothers,  particularly  of  Sandy,  who  never  faltered 
in  his  inspired  behef  in  James's  great  future,  kept  alive 
in  Simpson  something  of  his  mother's  affectionate 
nature,  and  kindled  the  sympathies  and  emotions 
which  bulked  so  large  in  his  character.  His  goodness 
was  displayed  in  his  kindly  treatment  of  the  poor,  who 
formed  at  first  the  whole  and  afterwards  no  small  part 
of  his  patients.  When  name  and  fame  and  bread 
were  his,  he  did  not  turn  his  back  on  the  poor,  but 
205 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

as  we  have  seen,  ever  placed  his  skill  at  their  disposal 
for  no  reward,  as  readily  as  he  yielded  it  to  the  greatest  in 
the  land.  As  in  his  daily  practice,  so  in  his  greatest 
professional  efforts,  the  revelation  of  chloroform,  the 
fight  for  anaesthesia,  the  introduction  of  acupressure, 
the  crusade  against  hospitalism,  one  thought  breathed 
through  his  work — that  he  might  do  something 
to  better  the  condition  of  suffering  humanity.  He 
never  attempted  to  keep  discoveries  in  his  own 
hands,  to  profit  by  the  monopoly,  but  scattered  wide 
the  knowledge  which  had  come  to  him  that  it  might 
benefit  mankind  and  grow  stronger  and  wider  in  the 
hands  of  other  workers. 

In  his  domestic  life  he  was  a  tender,  loving,  and 
companionable  husband  and  father,  a  charming  host, 
and  a  warm-hearted  friend.  "In  this  Edinburgh  of 
ours,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  there  are  familiar  faces 
whose  expression  changes  greatly  at  the  mention  of 
his  name  ;  there  are  men  whose  speech  from  formal 
and  precise  turns  headlong  and  extravagant,  as  if  it 
came  from  a  new  and  inspired  vocabulary."  In 
Scotland  his  personal  influence  was  immense.  As 
was  afterwards  written  of  him,  "  Great  in  his  art, 
and  peerless  in  resource,  yet  greater  was  he  in  his 
own  great  soul  ;  "  such  a  man  stood  in  no  need  of  the 
violent  revolution  in  mode  of  life  implied  in  conver- 
sion. A  gradual  process  of  development  led  to  his 
feeling  that  although  to  labour  was  to  pray,  there  was 
a  need  for  more  attention  to  the  spiritual,  even  in  his 

self-sacrificing  life. 

206 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

There  is  evidence  that  during  a  brief  period  of  his 
career  Simpson  became  affected  by  speculative  doubts  ; 
indeed  it  v^^ould  have  been  surprising  if  his  mind  had 
not  been  affected  by  some  of  the  nevv^  schools  of  thought 
which  sprang  up  in  the  footsteps  of  Charles  Darwin, 
and  appeared  for  a  time  to  threaten  a  mortal  antagonism 
to  all  that  was  dear  to  orthodox  Christians.  But  these 
did  not  influence  him  long  ;  true  to  his  character  he 
examined  every  new  thought  and  finding  it  wanting 
remained  firm  in  his  old  and  tried  faith,  and  ranged 
himself  on  the  side  of  those  who  perceived  nothing 
seriously  incompatible  between  religion  and  modern 
science. 

In  his  bearing,  when  the  angel  of  sorrow  afflicted  his 
household  with  no  unsparing  hand,  we  find  him  always 
a  religious-minded  man.  The  first  trial  was  the  loss 
of  the  eldest  child,  his  daughter  Maggie,  in  1844. 
Another  daughter,  Mary,  was  lost  in  early  infancy. 
In  1848  his  friend  of  boyhood  and  student  days. 
Professor  John  Reid,  was  smitten  with  a  painful 
malady  and  died  after  a  prolonged  period  of  suffering 
during  which,  knowing  that  the  shadow  of  death  was 
hanging  over  him,  he  devoted  himself  in  retirement 
to  religious  thoughts.  Experiences  such  as  these  made 
Simpson  pause  and  question  himself.  Brimful  of  life 
and  vigour,  however  much  he  came  in  contact  with 
death  in  his  professional  rounds,  the  sight  of  it  in 
his  own  inner  circle  powerfully  stirred  his  emotional 
nature.  His  friend  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duns  noticed  in 
207 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

him  after  these  sad  events  a  gradually  increasing 
earnestness  in  his  spiritual  life,  and  a  closer  inquiry  into 
the  meanings  of  the  Scriptures.  He  sought  out  the 
company,  and  placed  himself  under  the  influence  of 
those  among  his  patients  whom  he  knew  to  possess 
fervid  religious  temperaments.  The  last  mental  stum- 
bling-block was  the  question  of  prayer  ;  he  had  seriously 
doubted  in  examining  the  question  intellectually  that 
human  prayer  could  influence  the  purpose  of  the 
Deity.  It  is  difficult,  if  not  presumptuous,  to  inquire 
into  the  process  whereby,  under  the  guidance  of 
spiritually  minded  friends,  his  doubts  were  satisfied. 

"...    One  indeed  I  knew 
In  many  a  subtle  question  versed." 


'  He  fought  his  doubts  and  gathered  strength, 
He  would  not  make  his  judgment  blind, 
He  faced  the  spectres  of  the  mind, 

And  laid  them — thus  he  came  at  length" 

***** 


'  To  find  a  stronger  faith  his 


own, 


The  simple  earnest  faith  of  his  fathers  in  which  he 
had  commenced  life,  ran  all  through  his  mature  years 
and  prompted  his  strong  purposeful  energies.  After 
the  combat  with  the  only  seriously  perplexing  doubt 
he  re-embraced  his  faith  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child 
and  the  strength  of  a  giant.  For  one  accustomed 
to  apply  to  every  subject  taken  in  hand  the  rigid 
process  of  careful  scientific  investigation,  it  required 
208 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

no  small    effort    to    lay  aside  his  usual  methods  and 
suffer  himself  to  be  led  wholly  by  faith. 

It  was  impossible  for  Simpson  to  enter  into  any 
movement  without  taking  a  prominent  part  in  it. 
That  Christmas  Day  on  which  all  doubts  left  him  was 
followed  by  days  of  extraordinarily  zealous  work,  such 
as  would  have  been  expected  of  him  after  he  had 
convinced  himself  that  he  had  a  mission  to  spread 
abroad  this,  the  latest,  and,  in  his  opinion,  the  greatest, 
of  his  discoveries.  He  plunged  at  once  into  the  midst 
of  Evangelical  societies,  missions,  and  prayer-meetings, 
amongst  the  upper  and  lower  classes  of  Edinburgh, 
and  made  excursions  into  the  mining  districts  of  his 
native  county  to  deliver  addresses.  He  interested 
himself  in  the  education  of  theological  students,  and 
in  foreign  missions,  and  added  to  his  literary  work  the 
writing  of  religious  addresses,  tracts  and  hymns.  His 
example  had  a  powerful  influence  in  Edinburgh.  It 
is  said  that  he  frequently  addressed  on  a  Sunday 
evening  Evangelical  assemblies  of  two  thousand 
persons.  The  news  of  his  so-called  conversion  was 
gleefully  spread  by  well-meaning  folks,  who  had  given 
credence  to  statements  published  by  his  enemies,  and 
imagined  that  here  was  a  bad  if  a  great  man  turned 
aside  from  the  broad  to  the  narrow  path.  This 
enthusiastic  revival  movement  died  down  in  time,  and 
Simpson  returned  to  his  ordinary  everyday  life. 

More  sorrow  soon  fell  to  his  lot.     In  1862  his  fifth 
child,  James,  who  had  always   been   an  invalid,  was 
209  p 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

taken  from  him  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  In  1866  the 
sad  death  of  Dr.  David  Simpson,  the  eldest  son,  which 
has  already  been  referred  to,  was  followed  in  about  a 
month's  time  by  that  of  the  eldest  surviving  daughter, 
Jessie,  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  The  death  of  James, 
a  sweet-natured  child,  stimulated  him  in  the  revival 
work.  Pious  friends  had  surrounded  the  little  sufferer 
and  led  him  to  add  his  innocent  influence  in  exciting 
his  father's  rehgious  emotions. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Simpson  perceived 
much  insincerity  in  the  revival  movement,  and 
attempted  to  dissociate  himself  from  active  partici- 
pation in  it,  on  account  of  finding  it  impossible  to 
work  in  harmony  with  some  who,  though  loud  in 
profession,  flagrantly  failed  in  practice. 

The  subject  of  Simpson's  health  has  been  little 
referred  to  in  these  pages,  because  throughout  his  life 
he  paid  little  attention  to  it.  The  chief  remedy  for 
the  feeling  of  indisposition  v/as  change  of  work.  He 
found  it  impossible  to  be  idle,  and  sought  as  recreation 
occupations  such  as  archaeological  research,  or  a 
scamper  round  foreign  hospitals,  which  to  most  people 
would  have  savoured  more  of  labour.  The  part  of  his 
body  which  was  most  worked,  his  nervous  system,  was 
naturally  the  one  which  most  often  troubled  him  with 
disorder  ;  like  other  great  men  of  high  mental  de- 
velopment he  suffered  from  time  to  time  with  severe 
attacks  of  megrim,  which  necessitated  a  few  hours  of 
rest.  The  blood-poisoning,  for  which  he  availed  him- 
210 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

self  of  Professor  Syme's  services,  was  soon  recovered 
from  with  prompt  treatment  ending  in  a  foreign  tour  ; 
but  after  it  little  illnesses  became  more  frequent,  and 
he  was  perforce  occasionally  confined  to  the  house. 
During  these  times  he  busied  himself,  for  the  sake  of 
occupation  and  to  distract  his  attention  from  his  suffer- 
ings, in  professional  reading  or  the  preparation  of  literary 
papers.  Rheumatic  troubles  became  frequent,  and 
soon  after  his  eldest  son's  death  he  had  to  run  over  to 
the  Isle  of  Man  to  free  himself  from  a  severe  attack  of 
sciatica. 

Long,  weary  nights  spent  at  the  bedside  of 
patients  or  in  tiresome  railway  journeys,  and  exposure 
to  all  varieties  of  weather,  had  a  serious  effect  upon 
him.  Travelling  was  slow,  according  to  modern  ideas, 
and  long  waits  at  wayside  stations  in  winter-time 
helped  to  play  havoc  with  his  constitution.  He  was 
well  known  to  the  railway  officials  in  Scotland.  The 
figure  of  the  great  Edinburgh  professor  was  familiar 
at  many  a  station,  striding  up  and  down  the  platform 
with  the  stationmaster,  chaffing  the  porter,  or  cheerily 
chatting  to  the  driver  and  stoker  leaning  out  of  the 
engine.  After  his  death  many  of  these  men  would 
proudly  produce  little  mementoes  of  their  services  to 
him,  which  he  never  forgot  to  send. 

The  little  rest  house,  Viewbank,  on  the  Forth,  had 
to  be  more  frequently  sought  refuge  in,  if  only  to  get 
away  from  the  harassing  night-bell  and  secure  a  full 
night's  sleep.     In  the  last  year  or  two  of  his  existence 

211 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

he  found  the  work  of  his  practice  and  chair  hard  to 
carry  on,  not  because  of  any  defined  illness,  but  on 
account  of  the  loss  of  that  buoyant  elasticity  of  consti- 
tution which  had  enabled  him  to  bear  without  apparent 
effort  or  injury  the  fatigue  which  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  prostrate  more  than  one  ordinary  man.  He 
had  early  trained  himself  to  do  with  a  minimum  of 
sleep  ;  to  snatch  what  he  could  and  when  he  could,  if 
it  were  only  on  a  sofa,  a  bare  board,  or  in  one  of  the 
comfortless  railway  carriages  of  the  day.  He  took  full 
advantage  during  his  career  of  the  modern  facihties  for 
traveUing  which  he  had  seen  introduced  and  deve- 
loped. Many  a  night  was  spent  in  the  train,  going 
to  or  returning  from  a  far-distant  patient,  or  after  a 
combined  professional  and  archaeological  excursion  ; 
the  next  morning  would  find  him  busy  in  his  usual 
routine.  On  the  day  after  receiving  the  degree  of 
D.C.L.  at  Oxford  in  1866,  he  started  for  Devizes, 
which  was  reached  the  same  evening  5  here  he  had  a 
hasty  meal  and  drove  on  to  Avebury  to  see  the  standing 
stones  there.  He  returned  at  midnight,  and  at  five 
o'clock  next  morning  set  off  for  Stonehenge,  a  place 
he  had  long  desired  to  see,  thoroughly  examined  the 
remarkable  remains,  and  on  his  return  took  train  to 
Bath,  where  he  found  time  to  examine  more  antiquities. 
At  midnight  a  telegram  reached  him  calling  him  pro- 
fessionally to  Northumberland.  He  snatched  a  few 
hours'  sleep,  and  taking  the  four  a.m.  train  to  London 
set  out  for  Northumberland,  where  he  saw  his  patient, 
212 


FAILING    HEALTH— DEATH 

and  then  proceeded  to  Edinburgh.  This  is  no  solitary 
instance  of  his  journeyings,  but  an  example  of  many. 

When  the  year  1870  had  been  entered  upon,  he 
awoke  to  the  fact  that  his  flesh  was  too  weak  for  his 
eager  spirit  ;  despite  this,  he  held  on  his  course,  and 
worked  without  ceasing,  never  refusing  an  urgent  call, 
although  he  now  suffered  from  angina  pectoris.  On 
February  12th  he  hastened  to  London  to  give  evidence 
in  a  notorious  divorce  case.  He  arrived  only  to  find 
that  the  trial  had  been  postponed  for  four  days.  He 
returned  to  Edinburgh  on  the  14th,  spent  the  next 
day  in  professional  visits  in  the  country,  and  arrived 
again  in  London  in  time  to  appear  in  the  witness-box 
on  the  1 6th,  although  chilled  to  the  bone  by  the  cold- 
ness of  the  long  journey.  On  the  following  day  he 
stopped  at  York  on  his  way  home,  dined  with  Lord 
Houghton,  and  visited,  at  1 1  p.m.,  his  friend  Dr. 
Williams,  in  Micklegate.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  journey  from  York  to  Edinburgh  he  suffered 
severely,  and  "  was  glad  to  rest  for  awhile  upon  the 
floor  of  the  railway  carriage." 

A  few  days  after  this  last  run  to  London  he  was 
summoned  to  see  a  patient  in  Perth,  but  was  this  time 
so  fatigued  by  the  effort,  that  after  his  return  on 
February  25th  he  was  obliged  to  take  to  bed.  The 
news  sped  to  all  quarters  cf  the  globe  that  Simpson  was 
gravely  ill,  for  nothing  but  grave  illness  could  compel 
that  vigorous  man  to  completely  lay  down  his  work. 

His  symptoms  improved  at  first  under  appropriate 
213 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

treatment  sufficiently  to  allow  him  to  be  placed  on  a 
bed   in  the  drawing-room  ;  and  he  even   once  more 
took  up  his  favourite  archaeology,  revising  some  of  his 
work  in  that  subject.     Patients  also  were  not  to  be 
denied  ;    many  were  seen  and   prescribed   for  in  his 
sick  room,  some  even  being  carried  up  to  his  presence. 
But    the    fatal  disease  regained  ascendancy,   and   the 
fact  became  apparent  to  all,  not  excepting  himself, 
that  the  last  chapter  of  the  closely  written  book  of  his 
life    had   been    entered    upon.     Towards   the   end  of 
March,  by  his  own  request,  his  eldest  surviving  son 
was  telegraphed  for  to  be  near  him,  and  he  wrote  a 
touching  letter  to  his  youngest  son,  then  a  student  in 
Geneva,  encouraging  him  in  his  studies,  asking  him  to 
look  for  cup-markings  cut  in  the  curious  islet  rock  in 
Lake  Geneva,  and  ending  with  an  expression  of  his 
feeling  of  impending  death,  for  which  he  felt  perfectly 
and  happily  prepared.     In  these  last  days  he  loved  to 
have  his  nearest  and  dearest  around  him  ;  Lady  Simp- 
son and  others  read  to  him,  and  his  daughter  tells  us 
how  she  daily  prepared  her  school  lessons  in  the  sick 
room  with  his  help  ;  to  the  last  he  interested  himself 
in  the  work  of  his  relations  and  friends.     He  answered 
the  attack   of  Bigelow,  of  Boston,  conscious  that  it 
was  his  last  effort  on  behalf  of  chloroform,  and  wrote 
to  all  his  old  opponents  asking  their  forgiveness  if  at 
any  time   words  of  his  had   wounded  their    feelings. 
He  might  well  have  spared  himself  the  regrets — such 
as  they  were — which  troubled  him.     '^  I  would  have 
214 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

liked  to  have  completed  hospitalism,"  he  said,  "  but  I 
hope  some  good  man  will  take  it  up."  On  another 
occasion  he  asked,  "  How  old  am  I  ?  Fifty-nine  ?  Well, 
I  have  done  some  work.  I  wish  I  had  been  busier." 
He  expressed  a  desire  that  his  nephew  should  suc- 
ceed him  in  the  Chair  of  Midwifery — he  would,  he 
thought,  help  to  perpetuate  his  treatment. 

There  was  much  communing  with  himself  on  his 
future,  and  all  his  sayings  on  the  subject  breathed  the 
simple  faith  first  inculcated  in  him  in  the  Bathgate 
cottage.  His  great  sufferings,  sometimes  allayed  by 
opiates  and  his  own  chloroform,  were  bravely  borne, 
but  the  days  dragged  sadly  on.  On  the  evening  of 
May  5th  Sandy  took  his  place  at  his  side,  and  the  last 
conscious  moments  of  the  great  physician  were  spent 
with  his  head  in  the  arms  of  him  who  had  helped 
and  guided  him  through  the  difficult  days  of  his 
career.  At  sunset  on  May  6th  he  passed  peacefully 
away. 

The  extent  of  the  feeling  evoked  by  the  tidings  of 
his  death  was  represented  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  remark 
that  it  was  a  grievous  loss  to  the  nation  and  was  truly 
a  national  concern.  There  was  a  universally  ex- 
pressed opinion  that  he  merited  without  a  shadow  of 
doubt  the  rare  national  honour  of  public  interment  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  A  committee  was  formed  out  of 
the  leading  medical  men  in  London  to  carry  out  this 
suggestion.  Their  task  was  light,  for  the  Dean 
acceded  to  the  request  at  once.  Much  as  his 
215 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

family  and  the  Scots  people  valued  this  tribute  to  his 
greatness,  they  decided  otherwise.  Scotland  has  no 
counterpart  of  Westminster  in  which  to  lay  to  rest 
those  whom  she  feels  to  have  been  her  greatest  ;  but 
Edinburgh  felt  that  she  could  not  part  with  him  who 
in  life  had  been  her  possession  and  her  pride.  He  had 
long  ago  chosen  a  piece  of  ground  in  the  Warriston 
cemetery,  and  Lady  Simpson  decided,  to  the  gratifica- 
tion of  his  fellow-citizens,  that  he  should  be  buried 
there  beside  the  five  children  who  had  preceded  him. 
His  resting  place  was  well  chosen  ;  it  nestled  into  the 
side  of  the  beautiful  city,  and  from  it  could  be  viewed 
some  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  scene  he  knew  so 
well — on  the  south  the  stately  rock  crowned  with 
the  ancient  castle,  and  the  towering  flats  of  the  old 
town  stretching  away  to  Arthur's  Seat  ;  on  the  north 
the  long  stretch  of  the  Firth  of  Forth  and  in  the 
distance  on  the  one  hand  the  Ochills  ;  on  the  other 
the  Bass  Rock. 

The  funeral  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ever 
witnessed  in  Scotland.  It  took  place  on  May  13th 
in  the  presence  of  a  crowd  estimated  to  consist  of 
thirty  thousand  persons.  The  hearse  was  followed  by 
a  representative  procession  comprising  close  upon  two 
thousand  persons.  His  own  relatives  assembled  at  52, 
Queen  Street,  the  general  public  and  the  Town 
Council  in  the  Free  Church  of  St.  Luke,  and  the 
representatives  of  the  University,  the  Colleges  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  the  Royal  Society  and 
216 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

many  other  public  bodies,  in  the  Hall  of  the  College  of 
Physicians.  At  each  of  these  meeting-places  religious 
services  were  held.  The  whole  city  ceased  to  labour 
that  afternoon  in  order  to  pay  the  last  tribute  to  its 
deirly  loved  professor.  The  poor  mourned  in  the 
crowd  as  deeply  and  genuinely  as  those  with  whom 
he  had  been  closely  associated  in  life  mourned  as 
they  followed  his  remains  in  the  procession.  Every 
mourner  grieved  from  a  sense  of  personal  loss,  so 
deeply  had  his  influence  sunk  down  into  the  hearts 
of  the  people. 

The  companion  of  his  troubles  and  his  triumphs, 
who  had  bravely  joined- him  to  help  him  to  the  fame 
he  strove  after,  was  soon  laid  beside  him.  Lady 
Simpson  died  on  June   17th  of  the  same  year. 

But  two  notes  were  struck  in  the  countless  obituary 
notices  and  letters  of  condolence  which  appeared  from 
far  and  near  —  those  of  appreciation  of  his  great 
nature,  and  sorrow  for  the  terrible  loss  sustained  by 
science  and  humanity.  The  Queen  caused  the  Duke 
of  Argyle  to  express  to  the  family  her  own  personal 
sorrow  at  the  loss  of  "  so  great  and  good  a  man."  A 
largely  attended  meeting  was  held  in  Washington 
to  express  the  feeling  of  his  own  profession  in  the 
United  States,  at  which  Dr.  Storer  moved,  "  that  in 
Dr.  Simpson,  American  physicians  recognise  not 
merely  an  eminent  and  learned  Scots  practitioner,  but 
a  philanthropist  whose  love  encircled  the  world  ;  a 
discoverer  who  sought  and  found  for  suffering 
217 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

humanity  in  its  sorest  need  a  foretaste  of  the  peace 
of  heaven,  and  a  devoted  disciple  of  the  only  true 
physician,  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

The  following  original  verses  from  the  pen  of  a 
well-known  scholar  in  the  profession,  were  given 
prominence  in  the  columns  of  the  Lancet : — 

PROMETHEUS. 

(Our  lamented  Sir  James  Simpson  was  the  subject  of  angina  pectoris.) 


'Alas !  alas  !  pain,  pain,  ever  forever  !  " 
So  groaned  upon  his  rock  that  Titan  good 
Who  by  his  brave  and  loving  hardihood 
Was  to  weak  man  of  priceless  boons  the  giver, 
Which  e'en  the  supreme  tyrant  could  not  sever 
From  us,  once  given  ;   we  own  him  in  our  food 
And  in  our  blazing  hearth's  beatitude  ; 
Yet  still  his  cry  was  "  Pain,  ever  forever  !  " 

Shall  we  a  later,  harder  doom  rehearse  ? 

One  came  whose  art  men's  dread  of  art  repressed : 

Mangled  and  writhing  limb  he  lulled  to  rest, 

And  stingless  left  the  old  Semitic  curse  ; 

Him,  too,  for  these  blest  gifts  did  Zeus  amerce  ? 

He,  too,  had  vultures  tearing  at  his  breast. 


Hush,  Pagan  plaints  !  our  Titan  is  unbound  j 

The  cruel  beak  and  talons  scared  away  ; 

As  once  upon  his  mother's  lap  he  lay 

So  rests  his  head  august  on  holy  ground  ; 

Spells  stronger  than  his  own  his  pangs  have  found  ; 

He  hears  no  clamour  of  polemic  fray, 

Nor  recks  he  what  unthankful  men  may  say  ; 

Nothing  can  vex  him  in  that  peace  profound. 

2l8 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

And  where  his  loving  soul,  his  genius  bold  ? 

In  slumber  ?  or  already  sent  abroad 

On  angels'  wings  and  works,  as  some  men  hold  ? 

Or  waiting  Evolution's  change,  unawed  ? 

All  is  a  mystery,  as  Saint  Paul  has  told, 

Saying,  "Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 

In  a  peaceful  corner  of  the  St.  Andrew  Chapel  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  alongside  memorials  of  Sir  Hum- 
phry Davy  and  a  few  other  scientists  of  note,  stands  a 
speaking  image  in  marble — perhaps  the  most  expressive 
representation  that  exists — of  this  wonderful  man. 


"To  whose  genius  and  benevolence 

The  world  owes  the  blessings  derived 

From  the  use  of  chloroform  for 

The  relief  of  suffering. 

Laus  Deo." 


Mr.  Jonathan  Hutchinson,  when  writing  to  the 
medical  journals  in  support  of  the  proposal  to  secure 
Simpson's  burial  in  Westminster  Abbey,  foretold  that 
his  reputation  would  ripen  with  years,  that  jealousies 
would  be  forgotten,  and  antagonism  would  be  buried. 
Twenty-seven  years  have  elapsed  since  then,  and 
few  remain  with  whom  he  came  in  conflict  ;  those 
who  do  remain  exchanged,  along  with  others  of  his 
opponents,  friendly  words  of  reconciliation  in  the  end, 
and  took  the  hand  which  he  held  out  from  his  death- 
bed. As  a  man,  Simpson  had  his  faults  ;  but  they 
were  exaggerated  in  his  Hfetime  by  some,  just  as  his 
capabilities  and  achievements  were  magnified  by 
219 


SIR   JAMES   SIMPSON 

those  who  worshipped  him  as  inspired.  He  was  full 
of  sympathy  for  mankind,  benevolent  and  honest  to  a 
fault,  and  forbearing  to  his  enemies.  He  rushed 
eagerly  into  the  combat  and  oftentimes  wounded  sorely, 
and  perhaps  unnecessarily.  His  genius  was  essen- 
tially a  reforming  genius,  and  impelled  him  to  fight 
for  his  ends,  for  genius  is  always  the  "master  of  man." 
We  can  forgive  him  if  sometimes  it  caused  him  to 
fight  too  vigorously,  where  the  heart  of  a  man  of 
mere  talent  might  have  failed  and  lost.  His  social 
charms  were  excelled  only  by  his  marvellous  energy, 
his  prodigious  memory,  and  his  keenness  of  insight  ; 
but  he  was  regrettably  inattentive  to  the  details  of 
ordinary  everyday  life  and  practice. 

He  approached  the  study  of  medicine  when  the  dark- 
ness of  the  Middle  Ages  was  still  upon  it,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  to  point  out  that  although  many  diseases 
appeared  incurable,  they  were  nevertheless  preventable. 
Although  no  brilliant  operator  himself,  he  so  trans- 
formed the  surgical  theatre  by  his  revelation  of  the 
power  of  chloroform,  and  by  his  powerful  advocacy  of 
the  use  of  anaesthetics,  that  pain  was  shut  out  and  vast 
scientific  possibilities  opened  up  ;  many  of  which  have 
been  brilliantly  realised  by  subsequent  workers.  He 
devoted  himself  specially  to  the  despised  obstetric  art, 
fighting  for  what  he  recognised  as  the  most  lowly 
and  neglected  branch  of  his  profession,  ranging  his 
powerful  forces  on  the  side  of  the  weak,  and  left 
it  the  most  nearly  perfect  of  medical  sciences. 

220 


FAILING   HEALTH— DEATH 

He  was  enthusiastic  in  his  belief  in  progress,  and  in 
the  power  of  steady,  honest  work  to  effect  great  ends. 
With  the  exception  of  the  time  of  that  temporary  burst 
into  revivalism  in  1861,  his  motto  throughout  life 
might  very  well  have  been  lahorare  est  orare.  He 
was  no  believer  in  speculations,  but  curiously  enough 
kept  for  recreation  only  the  subject  of  archaeology, 
in  which  he  entered  into  many  intricate  speculative 
studies.  In  his  professional  work  he  avoided  specu- 
lation, and  never  adopted  a  theory  which  was  not 
built  upon  firm  fact. 

If  we  are  asked  for  what  we  are  most  to  honour 
Simpson,  we  answer,  not  so  much  for  the  discoveries  he 
made,  not  for  the  instruments  he  invented,  not  for  his 
exposure  of  numerous  evils,  not  for  the  introduction 
of  reforms,  not  for  any  particular  contribution  to 
science,  literature,  or  archaeology ;  but  rather  for 
the  inspiring  life  of  the  man  looked  at  both  in  outline 
and  in  detail.  He  was  guided  by  high  ideals,  and  a 
joyous  unhesitating  behef  that  all  good  things  were 
possible — that  right  must  prevail.  He  was  stimulated 
by  a  genius  which,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  gave  him 
the  energy  to  fight  for  his  ends  with  herculean 
strength.  The  fact  that  chloroform  was  by  his 
efforts  alone  accepted  as  the  anaesthetic,  and  ether, 
which  from  the  first  was  generally  thought  to  be 
safer  in  ordinary  hands,  was  deliberately  put  on  one 
side  practically  all  over  the  world,  testified  to  his 
forcible  and  convincing  method,  and  to  his  power  of 
221 


SIR  JAMES   SIMPSON 

making  others  see  as  he  saw.  As  a  man  of  science 
alone,  as  a  philanthropist  alone,  as  a  worker  alone, 
as  a  reformer  alone,  he  was  great.  But  although  to 
the  popular  mind  he  is  known  chiefly  because  of  his 
introduction  of  chloroform,  medical  history  will  record 
him  as  greater  because  of  his  reforming  genius,  and 
will  point  to  the  fight  for  anaesthesia,  and  his  crusade 
against  hospitalism  as  the  best  of  all  that  he  accom- 
plished or  initiated.  And  he  who,  while  making 
allowances  for  the  weaknesses  of  human  nature  which 
were  Simpson's,  studies  the  life  which  was  brought 
all  too  soon  to  a  close,  will  recognise  the  great  spirit 
which  breathed  through  all  his  life. 


THE    END. 


222 


APPENDIX 


I. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Sir  James  Simpson's  con- 
tributions to  Arckaology.  His  professional  writings,  in  the 
form  of  contributions  to  the  medical  journals,  or  of  papers 
read  to  various  societies  or  meetings,  number  close  upon 
two  hundred. 

1.  "Antiquarian  Notices  of  Leprosy  and  Leper  Hos- 
pitals in  Scotland  and  England."  (Three  papers  read 
before  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Society,  March  3,  1841.) 
Edinburgh  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal^  October,  1841, 
and  January  and  April,  1842. 

2.  "Notice  of  Roman  Practitioner's  Medicine  Stamp 
found  near  Tranent."  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  ;  Dec. 
16,  1850. 

3.  "Ancient  Roman  Medical  Stamps."  Edinburgh 
Journal  of  Medical  Science^  Jan.,  March,  April,  185 1. 

4.  "  Was  the  Roman  Army  provided  with  any  Medical 
Officers?"     Edinburgh,  185 1,  private  circulation. 

5.  "Notes  on  some  Ancient  Greek  Medical  Vases  for 
containing  Lykion  ;  and  on  the  modern  use  of  the  same 
in  India."     Edinburgh,  1856. 

223 


APPENDIX 

6.  "  Notice  of  the  appearance  of  Syphilis  in  Scotland 
in  the  last  years  of  the  fifteenth  century."     i860. 

7.  "  Note  on  a  Pictish  Inscription  in  the  Churchyard  of 
St.  Vigeans."     Royal  Society,  April  6,  1863. 

8.  "Notes  on  some  Scottish  Magical  Charm-Stones  or 
Curing  Stones."  Proceedings  of  Antiquarian  Society  of 
Scotland^  vol  iv.,  1868. 

9.  "  An  Account  of  two  Barrows  at  Spottiswoode,  Ber- 
wickshire, opened  by  the  Lady  John  Scott."  Proceedings 
of  Antiquarian  Society  of  Scotland,  vol  iv.,  1868. 

10.  "Did  John  de  Vigo  describe  Acupressure  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century  ? "  British  Medical  Journal,  Aug.  24, 
1867  ;   Medical  Tifnes  and  Gazette,  1867,  vol.  ii.,  p.  187. 

1 1.  "Account  of  some  Ancient  Sculptures  on  the  Walls 
of  Caves  in  Fife."     1867. 

12.  "Notices  of  some  Ancient  Sculptures  on  the  Walls 
of  Caves."  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  ;  Edinburgh, 
1867. 

13.  "Cup-cuttings  and  Ring-cuttings  on  the  Calder 
Stones,  near  Liverpool."  1866.  Transactions  of  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire. 

14.  "Archaeology — its  past  and  its  future  work."  An- 
nual Address  to  the  Society  of  Antiquarians  of  Scotland, 
January  28,  1861. 

15.  "The  Cat  Stane,  Edinburghshire."  Proceedijigs  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Scotland,  1861. 

16.  "Archaic  Sculpturings  of  Cups,  Circles,  &c.,  upon 
Stones  and  Rocks  in  Scotland,  England,  and  other 
countries."     1867. 

17.  "Is  the  Pyramid  at  Gizeh  a  Meteorological  Monu- 
ment ? "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society ;  Edinburgh, 
1868. 

18.  "Pyramidal  Structures  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere." 
Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  ;  Edinburgh,  1868. 

19.  "  Cell  at  Inchcolm." 

224 


APPENDIX 

The  above  list  is  founded  on  that  given  by  Professor 
Gusserow    in    his    "  Zur    Erinnerung    an    Sir    James    Y. 

Simpson."     Berlin,  1871. 

II. 

On  post  mortem  examination  the  following  observations 
on  Sir  James  Simpson's  head  were  made  : — 
Skull — circumference    round    by   occipital    protuberance 
and  below  frontal  eminences,  22^  inches. 
— from  ear  to  ear,  1 3  inches. 

— from    occipital    protuberance    to    point    between 
superciliary  ridges,   13  inches. 
Brain — weight  of  entire  brain  (cerebrum  and  cerebellum) 
was   54.  ounces  ;   the  cerebellum,  pons,  and    me- 
dulla oblongata  weighed   ^\  ounces. 
The  convolutions  of  the  cerebrum  were  remarkable  for 
their   number,   depth,  and    intricate  foldings.     This    was 
noticed   more   particularly  in  the  anterior  lobes  and    the 
islands  of  Reil. 
Extract  from  British  Medical  Jourfial,  May  14,  1870. 


225 


INDEX 


Academy        of       Sciences 

(France),  194 
Acupressure,  173 
Adam      Street,      Simpson's 

lodgings  in,   20,   30 
Addresses,  Graduation,  74- 

77,  200 
Alcohol  as  an  anaesthetic,  93 
Alison,    Professor,    56,   59, 

America,  United  States  of, 
and  anaesthesia,  83,  96, 
199 

Anaesthesia,  88,  178;  oppo- 
sition to:  (i)  medical, 
113  ;  (2)  moral,  120  ; 
(3)  religious,  123.  Dis- 
covery of,  88  ;  results  of 
130 

Antiquarians,  Scots  Society 
of,  8,  71,  156 

Appendix,  223 


Archaeological  works,  Simp- 
son's, 223 
Archaeology,  4,  8,-'l52,  223 
Argyle,  Duke 'of,  217 
Arts,  curriculum  of,  14,  19, 

20 
Aytoun,  27 


B 


Baden,   Princess    Marie  or, 

69 

Ballingall,  Professor,  60 
Baronetcy,  Simpson's,  190 
Bathgate,  4,  7,  8,  34,  142 
Bell,  Sir  Charles,  60,  61 
Bennet,  42 
Bigelow,    Dr.,    of    Boston, 

198,  214 
Blantyre,  Lord,  80 
Boerhaave,  134 
Boston,  U.S.A.,  97,  98,  199 
Braid,  Dr.,  95 
Brewster,  Sir  David,  27,  192 


227 


INDEX 


British  Medical  Association, 

i88 
British  Medical  Journal,  1 76, 

177,  188,  225 
Bruce,  Robert,  72 
Brunton,  Dr.  Lauder,  148 
Burke  and  Hare,  23 
Bursary  won  by  Simpson,  20 


Carstares,  William,  192 
Catstane,  the,  of  Kirkliston, 

8,  155 

Chalmers,  Dr.,  27,  125 

Cheselden,  122 

Cheyne,  Mr.  Watson,  1 84 

Children,  Simpson's,  85, 
207 

Chirurgeons,  incorporation 
of,  58 

Chloric  ether,  99 

Chloroform,  215,  221,219; 
discovery  of,  105  ;  com- 
position described  by 
Dumas,  106  ;  Flouren's 
experiments,  106  ;  dis- 
covery of  properties, 
106  ;  used  in  obstetrics, 
108  ;  Simpson's  opinion 
of,  III  ;  administration, 
teaching  of,  130 

Christison,  Professor,  56,  59, 
84,  148,  188,  195 

Clark,  Sir  James,  129 


Clover,  130 

Cockburn,  Lord,  23,  27 
College  of  Physicians,  Edin- 
burgh, 53.  58,  189 
Cooley,  Mr.,  97 
Cooper,  Bransby,  123 
Crest,  Simpson's,  192 
Cullen,  2,  27,  41 


D 


Davy,  Sir  Humphry,  95,  96, 

219 
Dawson,  Dr.,  69 
De  Quincey,  127,  128 
Disruption,  the,  85 
Doctor  of  Medicine,  degree 

of,  38 
Dumas,  106 
Dunbar,  Professor,  18 
Duncan,  Dr.  Matthews,  105 
Duns,    Dr.,    34,    162,    196, 

207 
Du  Potet,  94 


Edinburgh,  17,  27,  197 
Edinburgh  Medical  and  Sur- 
gical Journal,  52,  72 
Education,  Simpson  on,  199 
Elliotson,  Dr.  John,  94,  95 
Encyclopedia  Brita?inica,  198 
Erskine     House,    Simpson's 
visit   to,    80 


228 


INDEX 


Esdaile,  Dr.,  95 
Ether,  99,  104,  112 
Evangelical  work,  Simpson's, 

209 
Extramural  Medical  School, 

Edinburgh,  26,  31 


Faraday,  96 
Fohman,  Professor,  45 
Forbes,'  Edward,  4 1 
Foreign     tour,      Simpson's, 

43-46 
Free  Church,  85 
Freedom  of  Edinburgh  city, 

197 
Funeral,  Simpson's,  216 


Gairdner,  Dr.,  37 
Girdwood,  Dr.,  37 
Gladstone,  Mr.,  215 
Goodsir,  Professor,  42 
Graduation    addresses,    74- 

77,  200 
Graham,    Professor    R.,   59, 

148 

Grant,  Sir  Alexander,  195 
Gregory,  Dr.,  32,  33 
Grindlay,    Miss    Jessie,    46, 

55,  57 
Grindlay,  Mr.,  46,  61,  68 
Gusserow,     Professor,     113, 

170,  225 

229 


Gynsecological     Society    of 

Boston,  199 
Gynaecology,  86 

H 

Hahnemann,  147 
Hamilton,  Duchess  of,  69 
Hamilton,  Professor  James, 

32,  40,  56,   59,  69,    163, 

169 
Hamilton,  Sir  William,  27 
Health,  Simpson's,  210 
Henderson,  Professor,  148 
Home,  Professor  James,  59 
Homoeopathy,  74,  147 
Hope,  Thomas,  56,  59 
Hospitalism,  177-184 
Hospitality,  Simpson's,   81- 

83 

Hotels,  the  Edinburgh,  and 

Simpson,  163 
Houghton,  Lord,  213 
Hutchinson,  Mr.  Jonathan, 

219 
Hypnotism,  94,  149 


Imperial  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine (France),  189 

Indian  hemp,  92 

Infirmary,  Royal,  of  Edin- 
burgh, 31,  109,  177,  178, 
187 


INDEX 


J 


ackson,    Dr.,     of    Boston, 
U.S.A.,  96 
James  VI.,  192 
Jameson,  Professor  R.,  59 
JefFery,  Lord,  27 
Jenner,  119,  145 

K 

Keiller,  Dr.,  30 
Keith,  Dr.  George,  105 
Kennedy,  Dr.  Evory,  61,63 
Knox,   Robert,   23,   24,  25, 
26,  28 


Lancet^  the,  ,95,   169,    191, 

218 
Laughing-gas,    vide    nitrous 

oxide 
Laycock,  Professor,  186 
Leighton,  Archbishop,  193 
Leprosy   and    leper-houses, 

70 
Lippi,  45 
Lister,  Lord,  176,  179,  184, 

188 
Liston,    Professor,    26,    31, 

91,  95,  104,  151 
Lizars,  John,  26 
London,  Simpson's  journeys 

to,  80,  187,  213 


Long,      Dr.,     ot      Athens, 

U.S.A.,  96 
Lycium,  the,  of  the  Muses, 

154 

M 

MacArthur,    Mr.,    20,    21, 

22,  26,  39 
Macintosh,  Dr.,  55 
Maclagan,  Sir  Douglas,  43 
Maclaren,  Mr.  Duncan,  61 
Maga,  the  university,  41 
Mandrake,  93 
Master  of  Arts,  the  degree 

of,  19 
Medical  faculty,  the,  57,  59, 

60,  187 
Medical   Reform  Act,   the, 

187 
Medical  student,  the   Edin- 
burgh, 33 
Medical  Times  and  Gazette^ 

the,  184 
Medicine,   condition   of,  at 

Simpson's  birth,  1-3 
Medico-Chirurgical  Society, 

the  Edinburgh,  189 
Meigs,  Proressor,  117 
Melbourne,  Lord,  28,  73 
Mesmerism,  94,  149 
Midwifery,   3,   32,    39,   40, 

53,  86,  104 
Midwifery    Chair,     55-65 

188,  215 


230 


INDEX 


Midwifery   class,   Simpson's 

67 

Miller,  Professor,  106,  109, 

186 
Moncrieff,  Lord,  27 
Monro  (Primus),  57 
Monro  (Secundus),  56 
Monro  (Tertius),  23,  59 
Montgomery,  Dr.,  140 
Monthyon  Prize,  the,  190 
Morton,  W.  T.  G.,  97,  98, 

129,  132,  198 

N 
Napier,   Lord,  ot   Magdala, 

Nepenthe^  93 
Newhaven,  143,  196 
Nitrous  oxide  gas,  97 
North,  Christopher,  18 
Nunn,  Mr.,  123 

O 

Oineromathic,   the  Society, 

42 
Oxford,  D.C.L.,  degree  of, 

192,  212 


Pare,  Ambroise,  90 
Pathology,   39,   53,   55,  73, 

74 

Petroleum,  84 


Physician-Accoucheur  tothe 
Queen,Simpson  appointed 
86 

Pillans,  Professor,  18 

Post  mortem,  225 

Practitioner,  the,  184 

Principalship,  the,  of  Edin- 
burgh University,  192 

"  Prometheus,"  218 

"Puck,"  138 

Q 

Queen  Street,  No.  52.  78, 

81,  105,  137 
Queen,    the,    17,   86,     129, 

190 


R 


Reform,  medical,  187 
Reform,  university,  187 
Regents,  the,  of  Edinburgh 

University,  192 
Reid,    Professor    John,    18, 

20,    21,   22,   25,  26,   39, 

41,42,  55,  207 
Religious  views,   Simpson's, 

203 
Rinderpest,     epidemic     of, 

185 

Rollock,  the  Regent,  192 
Roman  army,  the,  156 
Royal  Medical   Society,  41, 
52»  53 


2?I 


INDEX 


Royal  Physical  Society,  41     j  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital, 
Russell,     Lord     John,    27,  151 

9^  Stevenson,  R.  L.,  80 

Storer,  Dr.,  217 
Student,     the       Edinburgh 

medical,  33 
Superstitions,  4,  5,  12 
Surgery  at  Simpson's  birth, 
3  ;  before  anaesthesia,  88- 
91  ;  after  anaesthesia,  131 
Sutherland,  the  Duchess  of, 
80,  86 


Scots  Observer,  the,  82 
Scotsman,  the,  61,  142 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  27,  124 
Senatus  Academicus,  the,  of 

Edinburgh  University,  29, 

186,  194 


Simpson,  Alexander,  10,37,   I   ^^"^^'  ^^^^^^sor,  26,  31,60, 

40,  61,  205,  215 
Simpson,  David,  5 
Simpson,  David  (secundus), 

37 
Simpson,    David     (tertius), 

191,  210 
Simpson,   Lady,    191,    216, 

217 
Simpson,  Mary,  10 
Simpson,  Miss  E.   B.,   138, 

202,  214 
Simpson,  Mrs.,  5,  6,  204 
Simpson,    Professor    A.   R., 

51,  86,  164,  219 
Smallpox,  184 
Snow,  Dr.,  130 
Snowball  riot,  the,  42 
Sound,  the,  168 
Squabbles,  Simpson's,  78 
Stafford    House,    Simpson's 


visit  to,  80 


61,    73,    114,    175,   130, 
140,  148,  151,  186 


Thatcher,  Dr.,  37,  63 
Thesis,  Simpson's,  for  M.D. 

degree,  39 
Thomson,  Professor,  39,  60, 

72 
Town  council  of  Edinburgh, 

the,  28,   58,  60,   63,  65, 

73,  188,  192 
Traill,  Professor,  60 


U 


Universities     (Scots)     Act, 

188,  193 
University  of  Edinburgh,  14, 

18,  26,  28,  31,  130 


232 


INDEX 


Verses,  Simpson's,  33,  202 
Viewbank,  143,  211 

W 

Waldie,  Mr.,  105 
Wallace,  Professor,  18 
Warren,  Dr.  J.  Collins,  102 
Warriston  cemetery,  216 
Weavers,  the,   of  Bathgate, 

8.9 

Wells,  Horace,  97,  132,  198 
Wesley,  John,  71 


Westminster    Abbey,     215, 

219 
Williams,  Dr.,  of  York,  213 
Wilson,  George,  42 
Wilson,  Professor  John,  18, 

27 
Women,  medical,  188 
Wound-healing,  176 


York,     Simpson's    visit    to, 

213 
Young,   Professor    Thomas, 

59 


233 


Zb&  Grcsbam  iprcss, 

UNWIN  BBOTHEBS, 
WOKING  AND  LONDON. 


/^sT 


